Arc of the Universe
Out June 24, 2025
How do you design a system of government from scratch when you’ve lost faith in government itself?
Carrie Davenport, a renowned constitutional law professor, has the career opportunity of a lifetime. Project Mars, the brainchild of a billionaire tech tycoon, has ambitious plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars. And Project Mars selected her—a Black, queer, publicity-shy professor in North Carolina—to design a system of government for the colony.
Carrie leaps into researching how to craft a suitable constitution for space. But an incident one evening shatters her academic bubble: Carrie is stopped by the police in a case of mistaken identity and subjected to police violence. Worse still, a video of the physical encounter explodes online, further igniting her anger and mortification. Thrust in the limelight, Carrie must decide whether to speak up against the police brutality she endured and issues within the tech-bro culture of Project Mars. Suddenly, American democracy doesn’t seem like a shining beacon to carry into space.
Can Carrie regain faith in herself and in society to craft the “government of the future” and prevent the prejudices of Earth from tainting human life beyond?
“Arc of the Universe is an intriguing book that credibly explores how humanity can put its best foot forward in colonizing Mars and outer space. . . . In a world where space exploration has become the bailiwick of billionaires, the mistakes made on Earth should be considered while planning to live on other planets. Author Nikki Alexander has written an illuminating novel that will make the reader reflect on themes of social justice, space exploration, and moral courage.” - Los Angeles Book Review
“Arc of the Universe is a bold & intriguing work that dives thoughtfully into numerous issues plaguing contemporary America—and some that have plagued it from the very day of its founding. It raises questions about our imagining of new societies and whether conventional legal frameworks can adequately shield future societies from the problems of the existing ones.” - Independent Book Review
ISBN 9798992726206 (print) | 9798992726213 (ebook)