Gregory Benford

Audacious astronauts encounter bizarre, sometimes deadly life forms, and strange, exotic, cosmic phenomena, including miniature black holes, dense fields of interstellar plasma, powerful gravity-emitters, and spectacularly massive space-based, alien-built labyrinths. Tasked with exploring this brave, new, highly dangerous world, they must also deal with their own personal triumphs and conflicts.

As the robot R. Daneel Olivaw prepares to help guide humankind through the New Dark Ages, a robot rebellion and a girl with extraordinary mental powers both pose a threat to society.