A New Eden

The first book of a thought-provoking sci-fi adventure series about humanity reaching the stars, encountering new life forms, and escaping tyranny.
Earth has fallen under the influence of the Fermion Party, whose members believe humanity's future lies in the metaverse, a simulated environment to which people can upload their consciousness to become immortal. As a simulant, one cannot get sick, grow old, or die. Human beings have no business risking their lives in the betaverse, where injury and illness can kill them. And those who wish to explore beyond the solar system blaspheme what the Fermions believe is the natural order.
Trillion von Nichol, Atlas Tupu, Icarus Kishida, and Angelique Komene are the Beta Explorers. They have been living on Mars and training as astronauts to eventually locate planets that can sustain the next generation of humans. But when the Fermions invade the red planet to assassinate them, they launch before they are mission ready. Four different ships, with four AIs attuned to each astronaut's personality, leave for four random destinations to colonize worlds thousands of years in the future.
Now, each Beta Explorer must learn how to function as a simulant to complete their mission. Interfacing with their AIs, they explore potential habitable planets and develop technology to assist in terraforming atmospheres for humans, all the while attempting to reconnect with one another. But the Betas are not the only intelligent species in the universe. And their first contact may be their last when the Fermion's Starforce Alliance tracks them down to annihilate them once and for all.