Raisinbread: The Story of Jennifer Choate and Her Role in the Crisis of 2262

Raisinbread

Jennifer Choate had lived her entire life on the Angelperch Space Station. She had an OK but boring job and a few friends, but her life wasn’t going anywhere. Then she stumbled upon Raisinbread, a backdoor to the entire station which had been put into place by Roland Wist, who built it centuries ago. Her first thought was to use this access to become rich. She did that easily enough, but it was unsatisfying, because she knew if she spent too much of that money Security would figure out what was happening. She mentioned to Raisinbread that she wanted to do something, and Raisinbread offered to send her on an archaeological expedition to Earth.

Robin’s Review

Trigger Warnings: Nuclear fallout, AI surveillance, back-alley archaeology, existential mood swings, pseudohominid weirdness.

What Did I Just Walk Into?

Jennifer Choate is your average disenchanted space station bot lord until she finds an ancient backdoor AI named Raisinbread—yes, like the breakfast food—and decides, “Screw it, let’s play around.” She uses Raisinbread to get rich (yawn), but not wanting to miss an opportunity, she packs her things (and her newly bought pseudohominid, Zeke) and heads to post-apocalyptic Earth under a fake name and a vague archaeological assignment. With the authorities sniffing around—and no extradition treaty in place—Earth seems like the perfect escape.

She assembles a ragtag crew: Fillip, a nomadic guide; Ashberd, a scavver; and Justinian, a fellow explorer tagging along. Cue the quest through ash-covered ruins and one long WTF.

Here’s What Slapped:

📡 Raisinbread isn’t just an ancient AI backdoor—it’s a quiet puppet master with an archaeology kink and an agenda you won’t fully grasp until it’s too late.

🧬 Zeke, her pseudohominid sidekick, is somewhere between lab-grown bodyguard and uncanny valley tour guide—and somehow still the most grounded member of the crew.

🌍 The juxtaposition of hyper-advanced space tech with Earth’s “dig a latrine and pray” energy is darkly funny.

🗣️ A mix of old Earth slang and space station lingo makes this world feel truly fractured—in a good, end-times kind of way.

What Could’ve Been Better (But Didn’t Ruin My Day):

The first half drags like Jennifer’s feet on a Monday. Things don’t really kick into gear until past the midway point, so if you like a slow burn—emphasis on slow—you’re in luck. Otherwise, hang tight. It gets weird. Still, if you like your sci-fi messy and metaphysical, you’ll vibe.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

📖 Stories that feel like a fever dream in space

📖 Post-apocalyptic field trips

📖 Characters with identity crises and questionable choices

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review for Robin’s Review

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