فاصله به جنون: آشوب و نظم (فاصله، جلد ۴)

Author: Stephen R. Donaldson Title: The Gap Into Madness - Chaos and Order Series: Gap #4 Genre: Science Fiction Publisher: Bantam Spectra; Bantam Books Identifier: 9780307573049, 9780553071795, asin:B002SXIEZ0 Grade: retail Length: 623 pages Hardcover, 617 pages Published: 1994 As the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially-fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahead of hostile pursuit. On board Trumpet are a handful of bedraggled fugitives from an outlaw world, old enemies suddenly and violently thrown together in a desperate bid for survival. Among this unlikely crew of allies are Morn Hyland, once a UMC cop, now a prisoner to the electrodes implanted in her brain; her son, Davies, “force-grown” to adulthood by the alien Amnion and struggling to understand his true identity; the amoral space buccaneer Nick Succorso, whose most daring act of piracy could be his last; and Angus Thermopyle, unstoppable cyborg struggling to wrest control of his own mind from his UMC programmers. Locked in a lethal batter against one another for control of Trumpet , they also find themselves the target of Punisher , a police ship whose human captain, Min Donner, is torn between her duty and her sympathy for the outlaw crew she’s been ordered to capture. Yet as Min races to reach Trumpet in time, Warden Dios, the director of the UMC Police, receives a darker directive from the mysterious, semi-immortal Dragon, ruler of the UMC: Kill everyone aboard Trumpet except for the one person whose blood carries the mutagenic key to ultimate Amnion triumph—the ability to appear perfectly human. In a final titanic showdown in space, amid uncharted comets, planets, and asteroid swarms, these forces will converge in a contest of skill and survival on which their future—and the future of the galaxy—depends. Aug 2023 - epub verified by zardox. From first page Bantam paperback July 1995: They are a handful of fugitives from an outlaw world, old enemies trapped on a renegade spaceship in a desperate bid for survival. Among the unlikely crew of *Trumpet* are Morn Hyland, once a UMCP cop, now a prisoner of the electrodes planted in her brain, her son Davies, "force-grown" to adulthood by the alien Amnion, the amoral space buccaneer Nick Succorso, and the unstoppable cyborg Angus Thermopyle. Locked in a lethal battle for control of the ship, they are also the target of the police ship *Punisher*. But *Punisher*'s human captain is torn between duty and sympathy. She's been ordered to kill everyone aboard *Trumpet* -- everyone except for the one whose blood carries the key to the ultimate alien triumph: the ability to appear perfectly human. Events were not moving as the Amnion had intended and by studying Morn's force-grown son, they could replicate themselves in human form. The whole of human space could be seeded with hosts of Amnion and overthrow the society of Earth-bred life