For Good Measure (Daedalus Group)

In the race for the stars, the greatest threat isn't a self-aware entity-it's humans.

Global collapse was narrowly avoided, but humanity is resilient. As a new administration pushes for space manifest destiny, ghosts of the past linger. Congress is paralyzed by fear, haunted by the memory of a radical cult that turned an advanced artificial super-intelligence (ASI) entity into a weapon of mass destruction.

Now, accidents plague the new spaceport. They must navigate a landscape of shifting ethics and forge ahead without the assistance of a generalized AI system.

But the enemy isn't a futuristic opponent. A terrorist cell has seized 1,200 hostages, holding them-and the world-at the mercy of a terrifying relic: a 1950s-era nuclear warhead.

Operating in a world that has outlawed the very technology that could help them, the Daedalus Group must again try to mitigate a situation that seems hopeless. How do you stop a nuclear nightmare when the tools of the future are forbidden, and the horrors of the past are back to finish the job?

Former Special Forces soldier and federal contractor Mike Dooney served in the military and worked as an embedded contractor for federal agencies in various roles. He has a Master of Science degree in Technology Management and remains a lifelong learner. He is a science enthusiast who has had a long-time interest in the space program and enjoys designing. He lives in Virginia with his wife.