Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander

How do you design a system of government from scratch when you've lost faith in government itself? Carrie Davenport, a renowned constitutional law professor, has the career opportunity of a lifetime. Project Mars, the brainchild of a billionaire tech tycoon, has ambitious plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars. And Project Mars selected her-a Black, queer, publicity-shy professor in North Carolina-to design a system of government for the colony. Carrie eagerly researches how to craft a suitable constitution for space. But when she is stopped by the police one evening in a case of mistaken identity, the filmed encounter thrusts Carrie into a spotlight she never asked for, putting her at the center of the discourse on race and justice in the US. Suddenly, American democracy doesn't seem like a shining beacon to carry into space. Carrie must decide whether to speak up-against the police violence she endured, the tech-bro culture of Project Mars, and an even deeper underbell