Second-rate comedian Earl Weatherbee uses his AI to translate his culturally dependent jokes into what evokes laughter among the bumpkins far out on the galactic fringe. So when the rubes turn to throwing rotten tomatoes, Earl concludes that his longtime sidekick has gone bad. Even so, Earl refuses to abandon his only true friend, the AI with whom he has shared not just a career but a life.

"David H. Hendrickson is one of my favorite writers."
-- USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch