The Adjudicator

An ancient civilization is gone. Its justice remains. Decades after the Anglo-Aurigan War, Captain Nathaniel Rycroft reunites with former comrades whose greatest secret has never been revealed. During the war, three of them stole glittering "gemstones" from an abandoned alien sanctuary, believing they had discovered the greatest treasure in history. They were catastrophically wrong. The artifacts are not jewels but judicial identity nodes-essential components of an automated legal system built by a civilization that vanished thousands of years ago. Their theft awakens The Adjudicator, an ancient machine intelligence that exists for one purpose alone: To recover stolen property. To identify the guilty. >As mysterious deaths begin to follow the thieves across human space, archaeologist Dr. Talia Norwood uncovers the horrifying truth: the Adjudicator cannot be bribed, deceived, or destroyed. It does not seek revenge. It simply enforces laws that have never been repealed. With innocent lives caught in the path of an unstoppable pursuit, Rycroft must race back to the forgotten world where everything began. There he will face a choice between survival and duty-and discover that true justice sometimes demands the greatest sacrifice. Blending classic science fiction with suspense, mystery, and moral drama, The Adjudicator is a thrilling adventure in the tradition of the Golden Age, where courage, honor, and responsibility matter as much as advanced technology. For readers who enjoy: - Arthur C. Clarke - Isaac Asimov - Poul Anderson - Jack McDevitt - Alastair Reynolds - Jerry Pournelle - Larry Niven