Commander, you needn’t worry. We’ll be fine. While the Diebao can learn more and get smarter with every byte it processes, it cannot think like you and me. It can collect, analyze, and interact with data and make decisions in nanoseconds that would take us months to make. But it will never replace us. Or so they thought.

While the United States continues to cut funding to NASA and the space program, China has been developing a base on the far side of the Moon–the side we cannot see from Earth. A recent Chinese rocket launch becomes a call for alarm in the West, where suspicions are high. Could the Chinese be developing a military installation or can they be trusted in their promise that their exploration is for peaceful purposes? The speculation may all be for naught as it quickly becomes clear that China’s plans have gone awry when their own AI (Artificial Intelligence) turns against them, threatening the entire world with a weapons system that can be launched at whim.

Now the U.S. and China must work together to put soldiers and scientists on the Moon to neutralize the robots and computers that have taken control. Dragon on the Far Side of the Moon is an exciting thriller and a possible result of how a passive interest in space exploration and development could leave America further behind than it already is. And for fans of science fiction like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Terminator, Wood’s story suggests those days may already be upon us.