I just finished the Robot Geneticists series by J. S. Morin. It is also known as the Project Transhuman.
Good science fiction has a clear premise and sticks with it. The premise for Robot Geneticists is clear and simple. In the not too distant future, human brains can be saved in digital format and aliens killed all life on Earth.
There are two twists that make it unusual. It’s a post-apocalyptic world, but the story starts a thousand years after the alien attack, so it’s nearly a post-scarcity world. The other twist is that robots don’t hate humans.
The first book, Extinction Reversed, starts with a human girl escaping from a lab that was doing forbidden genetic research attempting to create a viable human. Eve was the first human on Earth in a thousand years. The robots running the world weren’t afraid of her, but considered her the most precious being on the planet.
In 2065, aliens attacked Earth with the goal of exterminating all life and colonizing. The researchers at the Transhuman Institute were nearing the end of a decades long project to digitize a human mind, copy it into an artificial brain and install it into a robot. During the alien attack, they managed to scan the lead researchers brain and install it into a robot before the humans died.
That one robot with a human brain waited for the attack to conclude. The aliens killed off all life, but only destroyed infrastructure where their colonies were to be located. For the research, the institute had scanned 27 brains, so the single robot loaded brains into the six remaining robots. The alien plan of attack was to kill off life, but ignored everything else. The seven robots plausibly killed off the colonies. Over time, the robots did a bunch of genetic work to recreate life on Earth. That is all backstory that comes out over several books.
When Eve is discovered by robot society, there are a few thousand robots on Earth. Each robot is a mix of three of the 27 minds that had been scanned. For variety, it’s a big deal to mix three minds to get a unique mind. There are also mindless robots used for menial and repetitive tasks. Robots are getting bored, and happy to have a human around. Many of the robots would like to be reloaded into a human mind to get back feelings and human senses. They remember chocolate, but can’t taste it. The world is empty, but technologically advanced.
Charlie 7 is the original robot and the only robot left has the mind of one specific human. He knows everything, can control everything, but usually doesn’t get involved or tell anyone quite how powerful he is. Charlie 7 is an irreverent smart-arse. Kind of a Han Solo type. All of the characters have strengths and weaknesses, and distinct personalities. J. S. Morin has a talent for writing real people.
The series was almost too engaging. I try to listen to the audiobook while I do something productive, but several times, just had to sit and listen. It’s well worth the time.