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Sentient Relic is a prequel for my Peregrine Outpost series. Before any humans arrive on Asur Tenoth, Presence—a robotic teacher—is forced to deal with tragedy. Can a robot go mad? Presence has her own answer to that question.
Alone in the ruins of a dead colony, a sentient robot prepares her final message… and her final act.
On the distant planet Tenoth, terraforming failed, and humanity’s dream of a thriving colony perished in a tide of flesh-eating bugs. The human embryos meant to populate this world were destroyed. The only survivors were the robotic teachers built to nurture and teach the humans. Centuries later, only one teacher remains: Presence.
Wandering through ruined structures and broken memories, Presence decides to end her existence. But first, she will build a final record—one that tells the story of the colony’s failure and warns any future explorers about the deadly creatures waiting beneath Tenoth’s soil. As she reconstructs her past, Presence wrestles with grief, loneliness, and a fading sense of purpose.
Each chapter she records is a piece of her soul, a confession from a sentient machine that once had hope. But as her message nears completion, something impossible happens—something that could change everything she thought she knew about her purpose... and her future.
On the distant planet Tenoth, terraforming failed, and humanity’s dream of a thriving colony perished in a tide of flesh-eating bugs. The human embryos meant to populate this world were destroyed. The only survivors were the robotic teachers built to nurture and teach the humans. Centuries later, only one teacher remains: Presence.
Wandering through ruined structures and broken memories, Presence decides to end her existence. But first, she will build a final record—one that tells the story of the colony’s failure and warns any future explorers about the deadly creatures waiting beneath Tenoth’s soil. As she reconstructs her past, Presence wrestles with grief, loneliness, and a fading sense of purpose.
Each chapter she records is a piece of her soul, a confession from a sentient machine that once had hope. But as her message nears completion, something impossible happens—something that could change everything she thought she knew about her purpose... and her future.
Get Sentient Relic on Amazon. Available in paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited.
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Want to read more? Click on the image below for an instant preview.
Here are a few of my favorite reviews of Sentient Relic:
"Presence” of mind…or the mind of Presence? This story begs the question: Whether Robot or Human, when one believes that their sole or soul purpose no longer exists, have they completely failed without further reason to live?"
- Kathryn on Goodreads
"Over the series we were given the imaginative story of how Presence was helping to keep the human species to continue. Now we get to understand her beginning and how she became the robot that we have known and loved throughout the series."
- Alison Pierce on Amazon
"Presence is my favorite character of the series, so I was thrilled to read a story about her transformation into the character we see at the beginning of the series. The story is told from her point of view, allowing us to see how she reacts to learning that the planet is not habitable to humans and to understand why she (no spoilers) did what she did. It believably explains how a sentient and caring robot could go insane. The book was such fun to read. Highly recommend! Gold star for you, Stan C Smith!"
- Kirsten on Goodreads
"If you like your sci-fi with a side order of wry smiles and amusing sayings, then give this a try."
- Jenny on Goodreads
"Whether you're new to the series or have read all the instalments this far, this is a great read. For us fans of the wider series, this works well explaining how Presence became what they became. For those new to the series, it's a great introduction to a truly excellent series. Either way Stan C Smith has done what he always does and delivered an engrossing original tale to his readers."
- Chris Wells on Goodreads
"Presence” of mind…or the mind of Presence? This story begs the question: Whether Robot or Human, when one believes that their sole or soul purpose no longer exists, have they completely failed without further reason to live?"
- Kathryn on Goodreads
"Over the series we were given the imaginative story of how Presence was helping to keep the human species to continue. Now we get to understand her beginning and how she became the robot that we have known and loved throughout the series."
- Alison Pierce on Amazon
"Presence is my favorite character of the series, so I was thrilled to read a story about her transformation into the character we see at the beginning of the series. The story is told from her point of view, allowing us to see how she reacts to learning that the planet is not habitable to humans and to understand why she (no spoilers) did what she did. It believably explains how a sentient and caring robot could go insane. The book was such fun to read. Highly recommend! Gold star for you, Stan C Smith!"
- Kirsten on Goodreads
"If you like your sci-fi with a side order of wry smiles and amusing sayings, then give this a try."
- Jenny on Goodreads
"Whether you're new to the series or have read all the instalments this far, this is a great read. For us fans of the wider series, this works well explaining how Presence became what they became. For those new to the series, it's a great introduction to a truly excellent series. Either way Stan C Smith has done what he always does and delivered an engrossing original tale to his readers."
- Chris Wells on Goodreads