Eyes of the Void (The Final Architecture, #2)

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

He had asked it Why, and it had told him, through image and comparison. Why? Because it was a slave, and its masters demanded it rework the universe one populated planet at a time.

We’re all acquainted with the tragedy of being you.

He was the canary in the mine, and you always brought the canary. Nobody cared that the canary didn’t much enjoy its job and would maybe like to be doing something else.