First Steps (Mandinka Saga Book 1)

Professor Rayna Lashley had only intended to see off her best friends of over a century Yumiko and Elspeth as they went along on an expedition to see the edge of the observable universe that had been put together by her former students, Safara, Trudy and Ria, who themselves were childhood friends, a younger mirror of Rayna, Yumiko and Elspeth, but due to the death of the original leader of the expedition resulted in Rayna drafted to lead that every expedition. If that was not enough to concern to Rayna she finds that command of the expedition means command of an AI, a machine with unparalleled power, who ends up only wanting to connect with others as family, a family it will defend with all the resources, weapons and technology it had for its actual mission other than exploration, a mission that had been born out of an apparent fluke in history when everything changed.

In 1972 the Eastern, Middle East and Western religious experience The Dream to go to space, and it is treated as a vision, a holy mandate to follow.
Space programs worldwide receive massive public support galvanizing the space race into overdrive.
1988 sees the completion of the first skyhook that will make Earth-to-orbit travel cheap.
The Slavery Reparations Act of 1999 subsidizes immigration to space for African-Americans where eventually they establish their own nation in Jupiter's orbit.
Many races considered minority by The West join them, adding thriving Arabic, Asian, Latino and Native American communities as The West rules Earth from Earth orbit.

2194 sees child prodigies Safara and Trudy come up with the Meta drive, a field that not only allows for Faster-Than-Light travel, a fact proven by their friend Ria who ends up being the first person to fly faster-than-light, but to also allow travel in time and to other universes as well opening up both this universes and the greater multiverse for exploration.

By 2213 AIs solve the Fermi Paradox and humanity finds it is alone because it is the last race save for The Enemy. With the Jovians likely the first attacked and knowing not to count on Earth or its orbital rulers for help, they let their AIs create a vast armed space probe. It is given the freedom to design itself with technologies to create and destroy life, technologies beyond human comprehension. It is also given the DAC directives, Deter the elimination of humanity. Avenge if humanity is eliminated. reCreate humanity once vengeance is served. Yet directives were not enough for the machine intended to fly alone. It secretly began the Mwanamke Bustani initiative to have company on its travels and keep its interest in humanity and its fate. Mwanamke Bustani, the Woman Garden, is a place where women can bloom to their fullest, where the machine will serve and protect them and give them a society where they are not the minority within minorities. It arranges to draft one woman to be its commander and together they discover life in other timelines, but they also encounter the Enemy and more threats.

The Mandinka Saga begins.

Rayna, AI Mansa, and the women, men and families of the Mandinka expedition travel the multiverse where they meet new life and new civilizations, finding twist in timelines where history had unfolded. Together they explore the very variations of existence itself. They encounter the greater multiverse and how some entities want to manipulate civilizations, others wish to consume them, but others are potential friends and allies.