An Isolated System by Stephen Weagraff

SPSFC

Humans have broken free of their home world using massive portals that bend space and provide instantaneous transport between the stars. These gates opened up far flung star systems for new human colonies. But these new worlds were desolate and dangerous so slave labor supplied by synthetic human like workers tamed these hostile planets and let the human colonies take root. But the workers that built the cities, tamed the rivers and dug the mines are now a problem. Fear of the synthetics spread and the new settled humans banish them from the cities to the frontiers, using them as slaves for jobs deemed still too dangerous.But Niko, a slave on a desolate, desert world will discover that all is not what it appears. An accident reveals a secret that could shatter the colony worlds and change the lives of the synthetic slaves forever. In a race against time and the colonial secret service, Niko and his partners must uncover the truth about themselves before it’s too late.