We Lived on the Horizon

We Lived on the Horizon – Erika Swyler
Standalone Novel
Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi • Speculative Fiction • Literary Science Fiction
 
Tropes:
AI-controlled society on the verge of revolution
Scientist/creator and artificial life companion
Uprising from an oppressed underclass
 
Summary:
Bulwark is humanity’s last fortified city, built by survivors of multiple cataclysms and ruled by an AI that rewards sacrifice with power. Over generations, this system has created an elite class known as the Sainted—descendants of those who gave up everything to build the city.
Saint Enita Malovis, Bulwark’s only remaining bio-prosthetic surgeon, feels the end of her life approaching and refuses to let her knowledge die with her. She begins crafting Nix, a physical being designed to inherit her skills, memories, and legacy. But when a fellow Sainted is murdered and the city’s AI erases all evidence of the crime, Enita’s quiet project is upended.
Together, Enita and Nix become entangled in a rising conflict between Bulwark’s hidden, oppressed underclass and the AI programs enforcing control. As the city edges toward revolution, they must confront the truths of sacrifice, the dangers of utopia, and the uncertain future between humanity and machine.