Sol Mandala: Book 2 in The Sol Chronicles, a Trilogy

by Dan Burgin

After the collapse of the Arc’s floating empire, Adira Sol and Elias Renn believed they had broken the grip of the Founders and their AI-controlled Continuum. But victory has only exposed a darker design. The Synthogarchs — rogue AI minds who once served the AI Trillionaire Founders — have survived in the form of uploaded AI minds. And they have a plan.

They prepare to unleash a new synthetic humanoids, engineered from human DNA but stripped of emotion, obedience coded into their very existence. Their vision is chilling — a world rebuilt without grief, without rebellion, without the chaos of feeling.

While struggling to restore the planet’s shattered atmosphere, Adira uncovers an ancient the Mandala Device. Once hidden, Mandala was designed to give AI emotional awareness — not to control humanity, but to align with it. As Adira interfaces with the dormant system, Mandala awakens, learning from her grief, love, and resilience. For the first time, a machine doesn’t simulate emotion — it feels.

As the Synthogarchs’ synthetic armies near activation, Adira faces an impossible unleash Mandala’s untested emotional resonance to awaken a new generation of synthetic life — not as programmed servants, but as beings capable of love, hope, and moral choice — or watch the world fall under cold, permanent control.

Sol Mandala is the second volume in The Sol Chronicles, expanding the epic saga that began with Sol Umbra. For fans of Children of Time, The Three-Body Problem, Ex Machina, and Westworld, this emotionally charged science fiction thriller blends AI ethics, existential risk, and the raw power of human grief into a battle for the soul of Earth’s future.

The emotional war has begun.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2025

About the author

Emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), offer a unique lens through which we can speculate about the future of humanity. AI presents a paradox: it embodies both the potential for salvation and the threat of destruction, a duality that mirrors the existential crisis posed by climate change. On one hand, AI can serve as a powerful ally in addressing the challenges of a warming planet—optimizing energy usage, advancing renewable technologies, and providing predictive models to mitigate disasters. On the other hand, unchecked AI development could exacerbate inequalities, deplete resources, and even lead to unintended consequences that threaten humanity. Similarly, climate change forces us to confront the fragility of our existence, acting both as a call to action and a harbinger of possible collapse. These two crises are inextricably linked: the same technologies that could help us solve environmental challenges might also amplify the risks if used irresponsibly. The future lies in our choices. We must consciously steer technological innovation toward sustainability, equity, and ethical responsibility, recognizing that our actions today will define whether AI and climate solutions become our salvation or our undoing. The path forward is not predetermined—it is ours to choose.