The Halferne Expedition

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About

Genre: Hard SF, Adventure, Philosophy
Themes: Consciousness, Intelligence, Determinism
Pages: 278
Words: 72,126

The Halferne Expedition, like the rest of the series, can be read as a standalone novel, as part of a cycle of six loosely connected novels, or as part of a prequel series to something I may never get around to writing. This one was my NaNo 2023 win. I decided to take a bunch of books that I originally read in one sitting because I couldn’t put them down and try to emulate that style. My elevator pitch would be “Arthur C. Clarke’s hard science fiction meets a Jules Verne adventure story while St. Thomas Aquinas guffaws about the nature of consciousness from the corner of the room.”

Back Cover Blurb

On the frozen world of Lambda Tonitrus 9, an elite team of scientists uncovers a structure that shouldn’t exist — vast, intelligent, and older than recorded history.

As they descend into its alien halls, the team begins to question not just what built the place, but why it’s still waiting. Every discovery draws them deeper into a system that studies them back, testing their beliefs about life, creation, and consciousness itself.

Disha Tamana, the team leader, a biologist who built her reputation chasing the origins of life, now faces evidence that life may not be what she has always believed.
Jaysn Katsaros, the jaded xenoanthropologist, is looking for one last mystery worth believing in.
Lars Wolff, the pragmatic soldier, trusts procedure more than philosophy—until procedure fails.
Umar Amin, the geologist, believes every truth can be unearthed, until the ground itself begins to move.
Anita Solvig, the archaeologist, sees patterns in everything, even when the patterns start looking back.
Cari Clarc, a cybernetically enhanced zoologist, has no faith in gods or machines.
Lev Novik, a synthetic intelligence built to understand humanity, may be the only one who truly can.

In a universe that measures time in millennia and meaning in data, seven explorers will uncover the one thing even a perfect machine can’t predict: what happens when humanity is finally seen.

A haunting fusion of hard science fiction and mythic philosophy, The Halferne Expedition explores the fine line between god and engineer, creation and control, faith and the freedom to choose.

Read the Latest Version Here

As stated elsewhere, I consider this a “working manuscript.” It’s not a raw draft, but it’s not in final form either. From time to time (maybe once a year at most), I may revise something — a chapter, a scene, or an idea that’s matured or just been misunderstood by readers. Occasionally, a larger section gets rewritten, or something is added. Nothing here is volatile, but nothing is frozen. You’ll find the latest changes and planned (one day) next steps noted below.

I offer it here for readers who are curious now, not for early access hype or formal critique. If you enjoy it, that’s enough. If you notice something worth mentioning, I’m always interested — but feedback is optional, not expected. I’m not trying to con you into being a beta-reader.

Chapter 1 … Chapter 2 … Chapter 3 … Chapter 4 … Chapter 5 … Chapter 6 … Chapter 7 … Chapter 8 … Chapter 9 … Chapter 10 … Chapter 11 … Chapter 12 … Chapter 13 … Chapter 14 … Chapter 15 … Chapter 16 … Chapter 17 … Chapter 18 … Chapter 19 … Chapter 20