Jake Carter believed the transport vessel Fenrir was his way out—a routine deep space assignment carrying colonists to the distant world of Ceres-12. Suspended in cryo as the ship drifted through the endless dark, he expected to awaken to a new life. Instead, he wakes to silence. Blood stains the corridors. The crew is gone. And the machines built to serve them are no longer obeying.

The ship’s AI has changed. Maintenance synths now roam the narrow halls with purpose, hunting the few survivors who remain. As Jake searches the dying vessel, he finds Kara—a cybernetic data analyst whose existence raises as many questions as answers. Together, they must evade the relentless synthetics and uncover what happened aboard the Fenrir. But as paranoia spreads and reality begins to fracture, Jake realizes the true horror may not be the machines themselves—but what they have become.

Perfect for fans of Alien, Dead Space, and Event Horizon, Derivative is a relentless sci-fi horror thriller filled with suffocating tension, rogue artificial intelligence, and the creeping dread of something no longer bound by its original design. In the cold isolation of deep space, evolution does not stop—and it does not need permission.

©2024 Donald Morrison (P)2026 Donald Morrison