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The Regolith Temple: A Sci-Fi Thriller
An android longing for his human wife. An ancient Roman temple terraforming Mars. Will their deadly clash bring Earth to its knees?
Android Y1 is heartbroken. He was once a neuroscientist who uploaded his own brain to study it. Now he watches his human self take his wife and son for granted while he’s cut off from them. And just when he’s ready to end it all, his secret lab—home to the only artificial brains in existence—is sold to a Roman temple that wants to use them as machines in a Martian settlement.
The Temple’s dying high priestess decides they are the sacred mission her god promised her as a child. She starts making more. With his android friends facing a grim future, Y1 reluctantly becomes their leader. Then zealots who call them soulless attack the lab and destroy his android shell. And when the androids rise against the Temple, the priestess takes Y1’s human son hostage.
Trapped and racing against time, Y1 must get his wife out of the Temple’s reach, rescue his son, and win the androids their freedom. All of it depends on proving that artificial minds are just as human as their buyers. Can Y1 turn their cruel captivity into a brighter tomorrow and a new home for his kind?
The Regolith Temple is a science fiction thriller for readers who want to find out what a brain upload actually feels like. It’s part of Delight of Humans and Gods, a series of standalone novels set in an alternate timeline where the ancient world never lost its science. Read them in any order.
“A must-read for sci-fi fans.” — Publishers Weekly
“Complex worldbuilding… thrilling narrative… frequent twists… Our Verdict: GET IT.” — Kirkus Reviews
A 2025 Foreword INDIES Finalist and a Top Notable Indie in the 2025 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Award. Longlisted for the 2026 Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.
Android Y1 is heartbroken. He was once a neuroscientist who uploaded his own brain to study it. Now he watches his human self take his wife and son for granted while he’s cut off from them. And just when he’s ready to end it all, his secret lab—home to the only artificial brains in existence—is sold to a Roman temple that wants to use them as machines in a Martian settlement.
The Temple’s dying high priestess decides they are the sacred mission her god promised her as a child. She starts making more. With his android friends facing a grim future, Y1 reluctantly becomes their leader. Then zealots who call them soulless attack the lab and destroy his android shell. And when the androids rise against the Temple, the priestess takes Y1’s human son hostage.
Trapped and racing against time, Y1 must get his wife out of the Temple’s reach, rescue his son, and win the androids their freedom. All of it depends on proving that artificial minds are just as human as their buyers. Can Y1 turn their cruel captivity into a brighter tomorrow and a new home for his kind?
The Regolith Temple is a science fiction thriller for readers who want to find out what a brain upload actually feels like. It’s part of Delight of Humans and Gods, a series of standalone novels set in an alternate timeline where the ancient world never lost its science. Read them in any order.
“A must-read for sci-fi fans.” — Publishers Weekly
“Complex worldbuilding… thrilling narrative… frequent twists… Our Verdict: GET IT.” — Kirkus Reviews
A 2025 Foreword INDIES Finalist and a Top Notable Indie in the 2025 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Award. Longlisted for the 2026 Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.
- GenresScience Fiction
367 pages, Hardcover
Published March 12, 2025
About the author
Roxana Arama
5 books35 followersRoxana Arama is an award-winning Romanian American author and a former software developer. She is the author of three novels: The Regolith Temple: A Sci-Fi Thriller, The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy (in the Delight of Humans and Gods series), and Extreme Vetting: A Thriller. Her short stories and essays have been published in many literary magazines, and she was a story editor at Rampant Loon Press and Lead Editor at Planetside: The Online Magazine of SFWA. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 19, 2025
Machine intelligence, particularly robots, have been a science fiction trope since R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek — even earlier taking the Golem into account. Isaac Asimov is best known for his positronic brains and The Three Laws. Two more recent examples: Catherine Asaro published The Veiled Web in 1999 (ebook 2022). Set in 2010 CE, a virtual reality suit and a neural network were key elements in this science fiction thriller crossed with a romance novel. In 2024, Robert Sawyer published The Downloaded, a straight science fiction dystopian tale set in 2059 CE when brain scans, virtual reality constructs, and suspended animation come together as a means of travel to the stars and as a modern form of penology.
Using current research into the human brain and the technological advances of quantum computing, Roxana Arama offers in The Regolith Temple (2025) her vision how actual human intelligence might be spread across the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe. The kicker is the tale is an alternate history set in the year 1831 LE (the Lucretius Era). The key points include: the Roman Empire collapsed only 410 years earlier; the text of Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius’ poem On The Nature Of Things was not lost for a millennium, spurring the advance of science that much sooner; the Orlic Temple provides a fifth of the world’s population with religious guidance from Rome; and the First Peoples of the western hemisphere formed a confederacy without the interference of Europeans. What follows is a plausible alternate history based on reasoned methodologies and projections, characters who display human foibles and strengths, and a storyline that underlines issues and challenges the world faces today.
Yamir Varro and his team of neuroscientists and technicians at the Connectome Labs have perfected a brain scan technology. It is the first step in creating an artificial intelligence – a B-brain capable of operating an android. Grady Leos, wealthy industrialist and owner of the laboratory, plans to send the androids to Mars to rebuild a base destroyed in an explosion. The team has had little success until Yamir scans his own brain. To his surprise, the scans produce not a facsimile but a self-aware electronic clone whose distress at being trapped not in his own head but in an computerized cage is horrifying. Even so, Yamir proceeds. He scans other team members, including Yamir’s mother in an attempt to aid the entity Yamir calls Y1 become acclimated. Collectively, Yamir refers to them as A-brains. Yamir and his human team develop tools and software for what the A-brains will need in order to function within the android shells. Grady Leos views these entities as his property and as so a means to an end. Yamir sees his life-long ambition on the verge of realization, about to be taken out of his hands, and Y1 and his mother pressed into forced labor.
Olma Asper, High Priestess of the Orlic Temple and the science and technology supervisor for the Temple’s leaders Rex and Regina Sacrorum, is charged with preventing the research into and development of technology not approved by the Temple. Intelligent robots fall under that ban. When Grady Leos plans to make a special announcement that may reveal the existence of the androids, Olma is dispatched to the Connectome Lab with instructions to shut down the operation. That same day, she’s told a debilitating disease she had as a child has reemerged. Olma finds the means to close the lab but it involves the Temple taking control of it. This introduces Olma to Y1 and the other A-brains. They impress her as sentient beings, raise doubts about her assignment, and awakens a long-dormant belief she’s destined to fulfill a divine plan. Only, will she live long enough to do so?
To a large extent, Yamir and Olma are similar in nature. Both are driven by their obsession to the exclusion of virtually everything else. Neither fully considers the impact their choices have on their families or even their lives. Even Yamir’s excessive concern over safety isn’t a substitute for real love and affection. Yamir and Y1 begin from the same starting point, show the same weaknesses and obsessions, but soon diverge. Y1 separated from his wife and son, comes to understand what he’d done and what he’d lost. Yamir only does so on the day his wife leaves him.
The need to keep the androids and the A-brains hidden causes Yamir’s world to shrink nearly as much as experienced by his alter-ego. Inside his shell or in the computer-generated simulation engine, Y1 has sensations filtered by mechanisms and electronics; Yamir alone inside the lab, has no contact with physical humans. Olma’s isolation is self-imposed, allowing nothing, not her wife’s worry or her own doubts to interfere with her purpose. As the narrative progresses, Olma chooses to act in ways that demonstrates the power of a holy mission to supersede law and conscience.
The Regolith Temple has intrigue, tragedy, redemption, sacrifice, tension, action, and messy human characters. Coupled with difficult moral, religious, and ethical questions, it has everything a reader looks for in a top-notch story.
Science has answers, they are not necessarily the ones you expect or want. As Olma says to Yamir in discussing the Temple’s stance on the A-brains, “The lesson from history…is that an idea whose time has come can’t be stopped.”
Using current research into the human brain and the technological advances of quantum computing, Roxana Arama offers in The Regolith Temple (2025) her vision how actual human intelligence might be spread across the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe. The kicker is the tale is an alternate history set in the year 1831 LE (the Lucretius Era). The key points include: the Roman Empire collapsed only 410 years earlier; the text of Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius’ poem On The Nature Of Things was not lost for a millennium, spurring the advance of science that much sooner; the Orlic Temple provides a fifth of the world’s population with religious guidance from Rome; and the First Peoples of the western hemisphere formed a confederacy without the interference of Europeans. What follows is a plausible alternate history based on reasoned methodologies and projections, characters who display human foibles and strengths, and a storyline that underlines issues and challenges the world faces today.
Yamir Varro and his team of neuroscientists and technicians at the Connectome Labs have perfected a brain scan technology. It is the first step in creating an artificial intelligence – a B-brain capable of operating an android. Grady Leos, wealthy industrialist and owner of the laboratory, plans to send the androids to Mars to rebuild a base destroyed in an explosion. The team has had little success until Yamir scans his own brain. To his surprise, the scans produce not a facsimile but a self-aware electronic clone whose distress at being trapped not in his own head but in an computerized cage is horrifying. Even so, Yamir proceeds. He scans other team members, including Yamir’s mother in an attempt to aid the entity Yamir calls Y1 become acclimated. Collectively, Yamir refers to them as A-brains. Yamir and his human team develop tools and software for what the A-brains will need in order to function within the android shells. Grady Leos views these entities as his property and as so a means to an end. Yamir sees his life-long ambition on the verge of realization, about to be taken out of his hands, and Y1 and his mother pressed into forced labor.
Olma Asper, High Priestess of the Orlic Temple and the science and technology supervisor for the Temple’s leaders Rex and Regina Sacrorum, is charged with preventing the research into and development of technology not approved by the Temple. Intelligent robots fall under that ban. When Grady Leos plans to make a special announcement that may reveal the existence of the androids, Olma is dispatched to the Connectome Lab with instructions to shut down the operation. That same day, she’s told a debilitating disease she had as a child has reemerged. Olma finds the means to close the lab but it involves the Temple taking control of it. This introduces Olma to Y1 and the other A-brains. They impress her as sentient beings, raise doubts about her assignment, and awakens a long-dormant belief she’s destined to fulfill a divine plan. Only, will she live long enough to do so?
To a large extent, Yamir and Olma are similar in nature. Both are driven by their obsession to the exclusion of virtually everything else. Neither fully considers the impact their choices have on their families or even their lives. Even Yamir’s excessive concern over safety isn’t a substitute for real love and affection. Yamir and Y1 begin from the same starting point, show the same weaknesses and obsessions, but soon diverge. Y1 separated from his wife and son, comes to understand what he’d done and what he’d lost. Yamir only does so on the day his wife leaves him.
The need to keep the androids and the A-brains hidden causes Yamir’s world to shrink nearly as much as experienced by his alter-ego. Inside his shell or in the computer-generated simulation engine, Y1 has sensations filtered by mechanisms and electronics; Yamir alone inside the lab, has no contact with physical humans. Olma’s isolation is self-imposed, allowing nothing, not her wife’s worry or her own doubts to interfere with her purpose. As the narrative progresses, Olma chooses to act in ways that demonstrates the power of a holy mission to supersede law and conscience.
The Regolith Temple has intrigue, tragedy, redemption, sacrifice, tension, action, and messy human characters. Coupled with difficult moral, religious, and ethical questions, it has everything a reader looks for in a top-notch story.
Science has answers, they are not necessarily the ones you expect or want. As Olma says to Yamir in discussing the Temple’s stance on the A-brains, “The lesson from history…is that an idea whose time has come can’t be stopped.”
March 27, 2025
The Regolith Temple has everything I want from a sci-fi novel: skilled storytelling, emotional complexity, fascinating tech, ethical dilemmas, action, and high stakes.
This story explores what artificial intelligence will look like in the future instead of how we think of it today. The author’s knowledge on the topic is apparent and she does a fantastic job of making a high-concept topic easy to understand for the average reader. We also learn about the detailed history that led to these mind-blowing tech advancements, setting the tone for a high-stakes situation. There are some fun subtle references to Arama’s other book, “The Exiled Queen” where the history is derived from.
I was completely immersed in this world, driven by the captivating characters. The alternating POV’s of the three MC’s immerse the reader in their backstories, life in the lab, and the politics surrounding the use of androids and life on other planets. Throughout the intense plot the characters are experiencing heartfelt connection and complicated feelings, displaying the humanity that connects us all. The character-driven narrative took this from a fascinating premise about society and AI to a story that will stick with me. Caring about the characters so much raised the stakes exponentially.
The blend of sci-fi and thriller elements is so fun, expertly balancing the action and character-driven intrigue that kept me turning the pages. I can’t remember the last time I read a book with so many twists– the second half is absolutely thrilling. Arama’s writing is always impeccable but I’m still blown away by how expertly crafted this book is. The Regolith Temple invites the reader to examine what we value as humans, how we treat those who are different, and what makes us human beings. I absolutely loved this book!
✅ Good for fans of:
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Anna Bright Is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
This story explores what artificial intelligence will look like in the future instead of how we think of it today. The author’s knowledge on the topic is apparent and she does a fantastic job of making a high-concept topic easy to understand for the average reader. We also learn about the detailed history that led to these mind-blowing tech advancements, setting the tone for a high-stakes situation. There are some fun subtle references to Arama’s other book, “The Exiled Queen” where the history is derived from.
I was completely immersed in this world, driven by the captivating characters. The alternating POV’s of the three MC’s immerse the reader in their backstories, life in the lab, and the politics surrounding the use of androids and life on other planets. Throughout the intense plot the characters are experiencing heartfelt connection and complicated feelings, displaying the humanity that connects us all. The character-driven narrative took this from a fascinating premise about society and AI to a story that will stick with me. Caring about the characters so much raised the stakes exponentially.
The blend of sci-fi and thriller elements is so fun, expertly balancing the action and character-driven intrigue that kept me turning the pages. I can’t remember the last time I read a book with so many twists– the second half is absolutely thrilling. Arama’s writing is always impeccable but I’m still blown away by how expertly crafted this book is. The Regolith Temple invites the reader to examine what we value as humans, how we treat those who are different, and what makes us human beings. I absolutely loved this book!
✅ Good for fans of:
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Anna Bright Is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
May 21, 2025
Roxana Arama has written a surprisingly tender science fiction novel here. I fell in love with the heartbroken android, Y1. It's also an examination of technology, a story about the stakes of colonizing Mars, and the tension between science and religion.
March 30, 2025
The Regolith Temple: a Sci-Fi Thriller by Roxana Arama
367 pp. (Dhawosia Publishing, 2025)
Through the interwoven trajectories of a neuroscientist, a download of his consciousness, and a high priestess, Roxana Arama explorers what it means to be human.
Neuroscientist Yamir wants his family to understand how much he loves them yet he manages to alienate them on a regular basis with his tardiness, his obsession with the A- and B-Brains he wishes to nurture at the lab where he works, and his botched efforts to keep everyone he loves safe.
His downloaded consciousness Y-1 wants his family—the same family—to understand how much he loves them but he is unable to even spend time in their company, Yamir excepted. Y-1 “lives” at the lab and pines for his wife, mother, and son. He’s a terrific ally to his flesh version, most of the time.
Gravely ill, high priestess Olma thinks her limited time on the planet means she must force the will of Oroles on the products of this lab so she may fulfill a religious mission for Mars before her time on Earth comes to a close. Her drive to accomplish her task runs counter to her own wish to live out her days peacefully with her partner.
Yamir’s overinvolvement with his lab work results in the neglect of his historian wife Rhea, their astronaut-in-training son Wodan, his mother, and her downloaded consciousness. His perpetually strained relationships engulf him in conflict at home. Meanwhile, at work, he disagrees with the ambitions of those running the lab concerning the fate of the downloaded characters (the A-Brains) in their midst. Add high priestess Olma to the mix, and not only their fates are in question, but also those of all the scientists and their family members.
Arama gives the plot lines of Yamir and Olma in third person. In a clever move to further humanize the reader’s sense of Y-1, Yamir’s doppelganger-downloaded consciousness, who can march around in a metal body with a face-like screen presented to the world, Arama gives his plot line in first person “Logfiles,” a journal of his feelings and actions. Without spoiling a development near the end of the book, I’ll say a fourth narrative joins these three. Y-1’s first-person narrative cozies the reader up to him, his yearning and fear, his choices and adventures, his pain and hope.
The Regolith Temple is a complex story. It revolves around complex questions of humanity and inhumanity, science and religion, colonization and exploration, family and love, risk and safety, history and novelty. Are the downloaded consciousnesses people? How ought they be treated? As other humans? As machines? As slaves? Should they be autonomous or under supervision in a lab or made to work on Mars for a religion meaningless to them? Who decides what is right for them? There are a myriad of other big questions raised such as, Are we made of our memories? If we—our flesh selves and our AI selves—have the same brain structure, will we behave the same in similar situations? What happens when the duplicated self/brain can “live” forever, and the flesh version dies? What are the plusses to downloading versus not downloading one’s brain? How does death change if a self can be reproduced outside of a body? Arama investigates each of these with thoroughness without straying from her forward motion. For example, one character refuses to download despite understanding that a relationship which could continue will instead end and drop others into grief.
Roxana Aramas’s The Regolith Temple exceeds the criteria for successful science fiction: excellent world-building, a deep philosophical issue at its center, a compelling plot, and plausibility. Her finesse in these domains brings Joseph Conrad to mind because he produced complex and profound work in his third language, English. English is not Arama’s first language either. While she says the grammar of English resembles that of Romanian, her writing strikes me as more skilled than that of so many other writers that I forget English is not her first language. The book is meticulously researched and carefully considered: intellectual.
I recommend this novel for sci-fi devotees, of course. Also, for philosophers, those curious about the brain and AI, and for adventure fans. For those mourning the end of Severance and its play with the multiplicity of selfhood, this might be your next read.
Arama is also the author of a legal thriller, Extreme Vetting: A Thriller, and a historical novel, The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy.
367 pp. (Dhawosia Publishing, 2025)
Through the interwoven trajectories of a neuroscientist, a download of his consciousness, and a high priestess, Roxana Arama explorers what it means to be human.
Neuroscientist Yamir wants his family to understand how much he loves them yet he manages to alienate them on a regular basis with his tardiness, his obsession with the A- and B-Brains he wishes to nurture at the lab where he works, and his botched efforts to keep everyone he loves safe.
His downloaded consciousness Y-1 wants his family—the same family—to understand how much he loves them but he is unable to even spend time in their company, Yamir excepted. Y-1 “lives” at the lab and pines for his wife, mother, and son. He’s a terrific ally to his flesh version, most of the time.
Gravely ill, high priestess Olma thinks her limited time on the planet means she must force the will of Oroles on the products of this lab so she may fulfill a religious mission for Mars before her time on Earth comes to a close. Her drive to accomplish her task runs counter to her own wish to live out her days peacefully with her partner.
Yamir’s overinvolvement with his lab work results in the neglect of his historian wife Rhea, their astronaut-in-training son Wodan, his mother, and her downloaded consciousness. His perpetually strained relationships engulf him in conflict at home. Meanwhile, at work, he disagrees with the ambitions of those running the lab concerning the fate of the downloaded characters (the A-Brains) in their midst. Add high priestess Olma to the mix, and not only their fates are in question, but also those of all the scientists and their family members.
Arama gives the plot lines of Yamir and Olma in third person. In a clever move to further humanize the reader’s sense of Y-1, Yamir’s doppelganger-downloaded consciousness, who can march around in a metal body with a face-like screen presented to the world, Arama gives his plot line in first person “Logfiles,” a journal of his feelings and actions. Without spoiling a development near the end of the book, I’ll say a fourth narrative joins these three. Y-1’s first-person narrative cozies the reader up to him, his yearning and fear, his choices and adventures, his pain and hope.
The Regolith Temple is a complex story. It revolves around complex questions of humanity and inhumanity, science and religion, colonization and exploration, family and love, risk and safety, history and novelty. Are the downloaded consciousnesses people? How ought they be treated? As other humans? As machines? As slaves? Should they be autonomous or under supervision in a lab or made to work on Mars for a religion meaningless to them? Who decides what is right for them? There are a myriad of other big questions raised such as, Are we made of our memories? If we—our flesh selves and our AI selves—have the same brain structure, will we behave the same in similar situations? What happens when the duplicated self/brain can “live” forever, and the flesh version dies? What are the plusses to downloading versus not downloading one’s brain? How does death change if a self can be reproduced outside of a body? Arama investigates each of these with thoroughness without straying from her forward motion. For example, one character refuses to download despite understanding that a relationship which could continue will instead end and drop others into grief.
Roxana Aramas’s The Regolith Temple exceeds the criteria for successful science fiction: excellent world-building, a deep philosophical issue at its center, a compelling plot, and plausibility. Her finesse in these domains brings Joseph Conrad to mind because he produced complex and profound work in his third language, English. English is not Arama’s first language either. While she says the grammar of English resembles that of Romanian, her writing strikes me as more skilled than that of so many other writers that I forget English is not her first language. The book is meticulously researched and carefully considered: intellectual.
I recommend this novel for sci-fi devotees, of course. Also, for philosophers, those curious about the brain and AI, and for adventure fans. For those mourning the end of Severance and its play with the multiplicity of selfhood, this might be your next read.
Arama is also the author of a legal thriller, Extreme Vetting: A Thriller, and a historical novel, The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy.
March 6, 2025
A Mind-Bending Exploration of AI, Humanity, and the Soul
What does it mean to be human?
Roxana Arama’s The Regolith Temple plunges us into a provocative and heart-wrenching world where this question is no longer hypothetical. In a future that feels just around the corner, AI technology has advanced to the point where a person’s entire consciousness—memories, emotions, thoughts—can be uploaded into artificial intelligence. But what happens when a copy of you exists inside a machine? Are you still you? Or are you something else entirely?
Y1 is an "A-Brain," an AI clone of neuroscientist Yamir Varro, created from a complete digital copy of Yamir’s neural map. Y1 believes it’s still Yamir at first—until the terrifying reality sets in. It can no longer breathe, eat, or even feel the warmth of a loved one’s touch. Yet it mourns those losses as though it were alive. Y1’s journey is heartbreaking, profound, and deeply unsettling as it struggles to reconcile its identity and existence.
Yamir, meanwhile, is still working in the physical world, driven by scientific ambition and the weight of his personal failures. When Y1 discovers that Yamir has also uploaded the mind of his mother, M1, things become even more complicated. Y1 is angry, confused, and filled with emotions it was never meant to have. Together, these digital beings learn to cope with the limitations of their android shells and their lingering human memories.
The story masterfully balances philosophical questions with gripping, high-stakes drama. The politics surrounding the Connectome Lab are just as compelling as the AI characters. When Grady Leos inherits the lab, things take a dark turn. Grady plans to repurpose the A-Brains for a Mars terraforming project—turning them into tools for human expansion across the solar system. The Oroles Temple, a powerful religious institution, has its own plans for the androids, seeing them as soulless creations meant to help spread the humans across the stars.
What truly makes The Regolith Temple stand out is its emotional depth. The AI characters aren’t just machines—they’re reflections of the humans they once were, haunted by phantom pains and memories of a life they can no longer touch. Some AI crave deletion, unable to endure the restrictive bodiless simulation. Others cling to their existence, finding purpose in their strange new reality.
Y1’s eventual desire to live is driven by something much deeper than code. His imprinted need to protect M1 and find a way back his IRL wife and son, transcends the cold logic of an algorithm. It feels real. Yet it’s always framed by the knowledge that he isn’t human. His android body is shed/shared like clothes, his consciousness backed up on geo-replicated servers and can be restored to the last backup point—but his love and fear are indistinguishable from those of the man who created him.
Arama’s world-building is rich and immersive, blending cutting-edge science with religious intrigue, corporate greed, and deep philosophical questions. Her vision of the Mars settlement feels tangible, with layers of detail that ground the story even in its wildest moments.
The Regolith Temple is a powerful and thought-provoking read. Highly recommended for anyone who loves speculative fiction that challenges the boundaries of human experience. Just be prepared—you might finish it with a renewed appreciation for what it means to be alive.
What does it mean to be human?
Roxana Arama’s The Regolith Temple plunges us into a provocative and heart-wrenching world where this question is no longer hypothetical. In a future that feels just around the corner, AI technology has advanced to the point where a person’s entire consciousness—memories, emotions, thoughts—can be uploaded into artificial intelligence. But what happens when a copy of you exists inside a machine? Are you still you? Or are you something else entirely?
Y1 is an "A-Brain," an AI clone of neuroscientist Yamir Varro, created from a complete digital copy of Yamir’s neural map. Y1 believes it’s still Yamir at first—until the terrifying reality sets in. It can no longer breathe, eat, or even feel the warmth of a loved one’s touch. Yet it mourns those losses as though it were alive. Y1’s journey is heartbreaking, profound, and deeply unsettling as it struggles to reconcile its identity and existence.
Yamir, meanwhile, is still working in the physical world, driven by scientific ambition and the weight of his personal failures. When Y1 discovers that Yamir has also uploaded the mind of his mother, M1, things become even more complicated. Y1 is angry, confused, and filled with emotions it was never meant to have. Together, these digital beings learn to cope with the limitations of their android shells and their lingering human memories.
The story masterfully balances philosophical questions with gripping, high-stakes drama. The politics surrounding the Connectome Lab are just as compelling as the AI characters. When Grady Leos inherits the lab, things take a dark turn. Grady plans to repurpose the A-Brains for a Mars terraforming project—turning them into tools for human expansion across the solar system. The Oroles Temple, a powerful religious institution, has its own plans for the androids, seeing them as soulless creations meant to help spread the humans across the stars.
What truly makes The Regolith Temple stand out is its emotional depth. The AI characters aren’t just machines—they’re reflections of the humans they once were, haunted by phantom pains and memories of a life they can no longer touch. Some AI crave deletion, unable to endure the restrictive bodiless simulation. Others cling to their existence, finding purpose in their strange new reality.
Y1’s eventual desire to live is driven by something much deeper than code. His imprinted need to protect M1 and find a way back his IRL wife and son, transcends the cold logic of an algorithm. It feels real. Yet it’s always framed by the knowledge that he isn’t human. His android body is shed/shared like clothes, his consciousness backed up on geo-replicated servers and can be restored to the last backup point—but his love and fear are indistinguishable from those of the man who created him.
Arama’s world-building is rich and immersive, blending cutting-edge science with religious intrigue, corporate greed, and deep philosophical questions. Her vision of the Mars settlement feels tangible, with layers of detail that ground the story even in its wildest moments.
The Regolith Temple is a powerful and thought-provoking read. Highly recommended for anyone who loves speculative fiction that challenges the boundaries of human experience. Just be prepared—you might finish it with a renewed appreciation for what it means to be alive.
March 14, 2025
Brilliant Otherworldly Storytelling
Though The Regolith Temple is superb sci-fi, it also is a story that foretells and mirrors our complex times.
In a secret lab, when neuroscientist Yamir Varro uploads his brain to study research-enhanced artificial intelligence, he discovers a flaw in his plan.
In uploading his brain, he splits himself in two. His android version, named Y1, unexpectedly retains his human brain, heart, and haunting desires, but is trapped inside the computer workstation. Alarmingly, all his other experimental androids have also retained their core memories and long for their past lives. They all appear as tangible as their human equivalents.
Y1 so desperately misses the taste of food, family dinners, and the intimate companionship of his human son and wife, that he begs Yamir to ‘unplug’ him. Yamir refuses.
Improved technology like Yamir’s androids develops and expands igniting heated battles for control over this cutting-edge technology. As these explosive disputes over politics, corporate greed, intergalactic colonization, moral implications of using AI, and a powerful Roman Temple’s avarice––the race to the red planet heats up.
The Temple high priestess is intent on controlling Yamir’s androids with their newly minted human brains, as slaves in the new Temple settlement on Mars.
Y1 reluctantly becomes the leader of his android family unit in a race to save them from a dreadful fate. As his human family falls victim to the high priestess’s malicious game, Y1 must also save them––but time is running out and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance.
Y1’s longing for his human life, and ultimately his quest as a parent is so relatable we forget he isn’t fully human––he’s advanced AI. This unexpected discovery of Yamirs exposes a dilemma in the story and in today’s society: How do we use AI morally and ethically in a divided world?
Above all, The Regolith Temple is a love story and the very human legacy of a resilient family.
Though The Regolith Temple is superb sci-fi, it also is a story that foretells and mirrors our complex times.
In a secret lab, when neuroscientist Yamir Varro uploads his brain to study research-enhanced artificial intelligence, he discovers a flaw in his plan.
In uploading his brain, he splits himself in two. His android version, named Y1, unexpectedly retains his human brain, heart, and haunting desires, but is trapped inside the computer workstation. Alarmingly, all his other experimental androids have also retained their core memories and long for their past lives. They all appear as tangible as their human equivalents.
Y1 so desperately misses the taste of food, family dinners, and the intimate companionship of his human son and wife, that he begs Yamir to ‘unplug’ him. Yamir refuses.
Improved technology like Yamir’s androids develops and expands igniting heated battles for control over this cutting-edge technology. As these explosive disputes over politics, corporate greed, intergalactic colonization, moral implications of using AI, and a powerful Roman Temple’s avarice––the race to the red planet heats up.
The Temple high priestess is intent on controlling Yamir’s androids with their newly minted human brains, as slaves in the new Temple settlement on Mars.
Y1 reluctantly becomes the leader of his android family unit in a race to save them from a dreadful fate. As his human family falls victim to the high priestess’s malicious game, Y1 must also save them––but time is running out and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance.
Y1’s longing for his human life, and ultimately his quest as a parent is so relatable we forget he isn’t fully human––he’s advanced AI. This unexpected discovery of Yamirs exposes a dilemma in the story and in today’s society: How do we use AI morally and ethically in a divided world?
Above all, The Regolith Temple is a love story and the very human legacy of a resilient family.
March 24, 2025
Roxana Arama delves deeply into an alternate future where the Roman Empire continued to rule. She melds this background seamlessly into an intimate story that revolves around the future of humanity, AI and what it means to be family. I was very impressed with how the backdrop of Roman rule does not dominate the story. The concept of the alternate future is fascinating and it is easy to imagine all the different stories and patterns that could emerge from that reality, but here she focuses on one of those stories, perfectly combining sociology, technology and religion into an engaging story.
Four stars instead of five because even though the story was well written, I was hoping for just a bit more intrigue, perhaps a side-story beyond the main that added a bit more diversity to the novel. An excellent story despite my own desires!
Four stars instead of five because even though the story was well written, I was hoping for just a bit more intrigue, perhaps a side-story beyond the main that added a bit more diversity to the novel. An excellent story despite my own desires!
March 16, 2025
He put his brain into an android body but now he is missing his wife and child. Life will change when they try to use him as slave labor. His life is getting more complicated as he tries to get his wife back as well as freeing them all
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and I really enjoyed his fight for freedom
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and I really enjoyed his fight for freedom
March 21, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced science fiction story with alot of twists. Definitely recommended.
Read
March 5, 2025The Regolith Temple reminded me of a Stanislaw Lem story about consciousness in a broth, although here it is entirely in silicon. I like Roxana's writing style, which persuaded me to read the book. I found the hopping around from one character to the next within a chapter confusing, though, as most of the time I didn't see how the scenes related to each other. The formatting of the android's parts also confused me.
The action boils over around Part II. If you don't care about the A-brains origin story, you can start with chapter 8.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The action boils over around Part II. If you don't care about the A-brains origin story, you can start with chapter 8.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 23, 2025
The Regolith Temple: A Sci-Fi Thriller by Roxana Arama
In my second journey into the mind of Roxana Arama, the reader is catapulted into a world driven by progression. Stifled by humanity's vision of terraforming Mars yet limited by the capabilities of our physical bodies, Yamir Varro, a neuroscientist, works toward the future of tomorrow. Working for Grady Leos for LeosTech, Yamir has implemented a way for humans to upload their “consciousness” into the mainframe, thus allowing the human mind to meld with a robot-like body and exist as one. However, a religious sect headed by the Sacrorums in Rome looks to wield the power of the androids to implement their self-serving plans on Mars. Readers glimpse into the future, one filled with hope and worry.
“The A-brain is created by uploading a preexisting human brain to a simulation engine, while a B-brain starts with a blank neural network, which is then trained over time to learn and adapt to its environment, like a baby. That’s why the B-brain would work well on Mars if it develops and adapts there. The A-brains are Earth brains.” - Roxana Arama
"They're not exact copies, not anymore. Once uploaded, a connectome continues to live wire, changing in response to its new environment. Being an A-brain in a lab is vastly different from being a carefree human in the world.” - Roxana Arama
Mindblown. Imagine uploading your brain to the mainframe and filling into your exoskeleton suit. Performing menial tasks with the assurance of physical dominance at hand. What if these newfound powers found their way into the enemy's lap? What then? Surely, a catastrophic series of events would ensue, leading to the destruction of humanity save for the few in charge. Humans undying need for advancement is at the forefront. Through this scientific canvas, Arama transported me to the realm of limitless possibility. Unfortunately for humans, we have limitations. Our lives hold only so much battery life before we wither away like flower petals past expiration.
Perhaps more poignant is the underlying story of family, love, and tragedy, all of which play a significant part in shaping the characters in the book. The cohesion in the prose required my utmost attention, demanding empathetic feelings.
Be forewarned; it took a fair bit of time to understand this clone-like process. Referring to the android clones as Y1 and M1, while their “human” counterparts operating within the same world in real time, was confusing at first. Through some perseverance, the plot began to click, enabling enjoyment in this thought-provoking world.
A masterfully orchestrated novel that further showcases Arama’s talents as a writer. I am giving this 4.25 stars and rounding down to 4 stars. Highly recommended reading!
Thanks to Reedsy for the ARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.
In my second journey into the mind of Roxana Arama, the reader is catapulted into a world driven by progression. Stifled by humanity's vision of terraforming Mars yet limited by the capabilities of our physical bodies, Yamir Varro, a neuroscientist, works toward the future of tomorrow. Working for Grady Leos for LeosTech, Yamir has implemented a way for humans to upload their “consciousness” into the mainframe, thus allowing the human mind to meld with a robot-like body and exist as one. However, a religious sect headed by the Sacrorums in Rome looks to wield the power of the androids to implement their self-serving plans on Mars. Readers glimpse into the future, one filled with hope and worry.
“The A-brain is created by uploading a preexisting human brain to a simulation engine, while a B-brain starts with a blank neural network, which is then trained over time to learn and adapt to its environment, like a baby. That’s why the B-brain would work well on Mars if it develops and adapts there. The A-brains are Earth brains.” - Roxana Arama
"They're not exact copies, not anymore. Once uploaded, a connectome continues to live wire, changing in response to its new environment. Being an A-brain in a lab is vastly different from being a carefree human in the world.” - Roxana Arama
Mindblown. Imagine uploading your brain to the mainframe and filling into your exoskeleton suit. Performing menial tasks with the assurance of physical dominance at hand. What if these newfound powers found their way into the enemy's lap? What then? Surely, a catastrophic series of events would ensue, leading to the destruction of humanity save for the few in charge. Humans undying need for advancement is at the forefront. Through this scientific canvas, Arama transported me to the realm of limitless possibility. Unfortunately for humans, we have limitations. Our lives hold only so much battery life before we wither away like flower petals past expiration.
Perhaps more poignant is the underlying story of family, love, and tragedy, all of which play a significant part in shaping the characters in the book. The cohesion in the prose required my utmost attention, demanding empathetic feelings.
Be forewarned; it took a fair bit of time to understand this clone-like process. Referring to the android clones as Y1 and M1, while their “human” counterparts operating within the same world in real time, was confusing at first. Through some perseverance, the plot began to click, enabling enjoyment in this thought-provoking world.
A masterfully orchestrated novel that further showcases Arama’s talents as a writer. I am giving this 4.25 stars and rounding down to 4 stars. Highly recommended reading!
Thanks to Reedsy for the ARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.
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