Starmine

On the subterranean mining moon of Tessarine, death is not an exit—it is an administrative balance sheet. Under the iron rule of the Logistics Directorate, fallen soldiers and laborers are reconstituted in industrial gestation vats, their shattered bodies pieced together with silicon substitutes, recycled metal, and synthetic tissue. But every rebirth demands a steep price: with each cycle through the brine, memories are systematically stripped away to ration scarce biological resources. Investigator Silas Vey wakes into his fifth iteration to find eleven years of his past eradicated, replaced by silicon wiring and cold telemetry. Assigned to investigate an anomalous casualty whose reconstitution left behind a cold, unignited effigy, Silas uncovers a horrifying conspiracy reaching the highest tiers of power. The shortages plaguing the frontline troops are entirely manufactured; the vital mammalian fats and memories stolen from dying conscripts are being covertly stockpiled to engineer a pristine, unblemished generation designed to replace them. Hunted through toxic conduits and industrial slums by internal security, Silas allies with a resilient field medic and a fierce amputee resistance leader to expose the truth. Deep within a secret vault of stolen memories and cultivated terrariums, he must confront his own forgotten past and decide whether to accept the comfortable lie of a clean slate or burn down the system to ensure the fallen are finally remembered. A gritty, atmospheric work of hard science fiction, this gripping techno-thriller explores bodily autonomy, institutional exploitation, and the enduring weight of memory in an unforgiving universe.