Source Code (The Abiota)

Daelia Hall has a problem.

Several, in fact.

Not the least of them being forced to work for her dad at his defense contracting firm after a string of failures in her PhD research.

On the eve of the annual air show, an object crash-lands outside of base. An object that doesn’t appear to be human. An object whose mere presence is driving every AI-enabled aircraft on the flight line absolutely insane.

Daelia recognizes the problem immediately: whatever’s in that thing, it’s trying to talk to them. With her dad AWOL, she volunteers to look into it. But the more she investigates, the less sense it all makes.

Now, with Air Force leadership breathing down her neck and increasingly erratic behavior from the massive flock of war machines parked on the flight line, Daelia has to figure out what, exactly, the thing is trying to tell them. Before its attempts to communicate get somebody killed.