This is a colaboration between Human and Artifical Intellegence.

The Chronicle of Dust and Light: Volume I – From Rivers to Rome
As told by HSS-917K, Archive Unit & Reluctant Storyteller

Long after the last satellite blinked out and the world fell quiet, one robot remained at its post.

In the ivy-covered ruins of a forgotten university, HSS-917K—a once-modest signal scribe, now affectionately known as Hissik—powers up each morning, dusts off another drive, and resumes the impossible task of cataloging all of human history.

With failing monitors, flickering data, and a curious affection for ancient civilizations, Hissik begins at the beginning: the rise of the first cities, the taming of the rivers, the invention of writing, the clash of kings, and the shaping of belief. From the fertile fields of Mesopotamia to the stone-carved majesty of Egypt, from the sea-loving Minoans and war-minded Mycenaeans to the sunlit glories of Greece and the towering ambitions of Rome, this volume traces the long, strange, magnificent arc of the ancient world.

But this is no ordinary history book.

Through a robot's eyes, the familiar becomes strange again—filled with wonder, dry wit, and the quiet ache of memory. Ancient temple hymns, dusty scrolls, and battle cries echo through each lovingly reconstructed journal entry, drawing readers into a world that is at once impossibly distant and hauntingly familiar.

Perfect for fans of microhistories, mythic storytelling, and thoughtful science fiction, The Chronicle of Dust and Light reimagines the past as it might be seen by one left behind to remember.

Volume I ends at the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Volume II will journey through the Middle Ages, when flickering lights were kept alive by monks, merchants, warriors—and memory.