Mind expanding space quest for answers to some very big questions. Came up against my Classic Sci-Fi hurdle: relaxing enough to absorb salient details and follow the plot, without getting overwhelmed by the initial swell of info dump/world building. I think the fact that it's a short book helped a lot. Wildly imaginative, with my fave bonus: bad ass robot. Here's hoping that ending leads to more equitable circumstances for all robots involved.