Space. Book 9. The Fall of Leviathan

Having lost their leader, the Laconian Empire collapsed, and one thousand three hundred star systems gained their freedom. But the dictator Winston Duarte is not dead, nor is the ancient enemy with whom he tried to fight. The one who once destroyed the civilization of the builders of the gates is now delivering blow after blow to the space conquered by humans.

It is entrusted to a group of scientists led by Elvi Okoye to determine what the creators of the protomolecule were and what supernatural force dealt with them. They have been given virtually unlimited resources of the empire, and they are not required to adhere to the norms of scientific ethics. But the price of victory sometimes turns out to be higher than the price of defeat…