Mirage
{4.5/5} “This conference was supposed to start a process of… well, of demystification between us. A start at debunking some of the erroneous beliefs and tearing down prejudices. Without that process, controlling the illegalities that proliferate between us will never be possible and one of these days we will go to war.”
Mirage by Mark W. Tiedemann, published in 2000
On Earth there’s a conference with Earthers, Aurorans, and Solarians. Assassins somehow get in a kill several dignitaries, somehow cutting off communication and robots of the security team in place to prevent that. Derec, an expert in positronic brains, shows up to figure out what happened to the Resident Intelligence. Some hours later Special Service comes along and takes over his operation.
It’s about people who are willing to use violence to get their way, people who are trying to drive a wedge between Earthers and Spacers.
Tiedemann creates a fine cast of characters and throws a complex problem at them.
The one thing I was confused about is how robots suddenly have the ability to shapeshift.
This is the 1st book by Tiedemann I’ve read.
The previous novel in the series is Utopia by Roger MacBride Allen.