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Kaliroimus Centari, a former soldier and newly liberated slave of the collapsed Aroikan Empire, finds himself adrift in a galaxy he no longer recognizes. Having spent his life physically and mentally tethered to fleet machine brains and a rigid communal hierarchy, he must now face the daunting reality of individual autonomy. As he journeys toward the transit hub Cephica on a commercial starship, Kaliroimus struggles to adapt to the transactional, currency-driven culture of the victorious Collective. This poignant tale explores the internal conflict of a man unmoored from a collective consciousness, forced to forge a new identity in a universe that values independence over the shared existence he once knew. Comparable works include The Murderbot Diaries