The novel “The Machine’s Child” by Kage Baker was published for the first time in 2006. It’s part of the cycle of the Company.

Alec Checkerfield is determined to free Mendoza from the prison she was locked in by Dr. Zeus Incorporated when she became an inconvenient operative. His clones Nicholas Harpole and Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax, whose personalities were incorporated into Alec’s cyborg body, agree but the three of them are as different as possible and this makes it difficult to agree on everything else.

Joseph is watching over the regeneration of Budu, who is like a father to him, after literally recovering his pieces. It’s a long and complex process, which leaves him a lot of time for other tasks. Joseph also wants to save Mendoza, who is like a daughter to him, but he also wants to save her from Alec.