In the distant future nanotechnology “grains” are fully intermeshed with Earth’s ecology, enabling enhanced humans to protect the lands they live on while forcing other humans to live nomadic lives. An enhanced human named Frere-Jones doubts her role in what she believes is a tyrannical system, yet sees no way to change her fate. But when a nomadic girl becomes infected with the grains, Frere-Jones is forced to finally confront her ultimate role in life. Finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novelette Longlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette

Colton, a young man whose emotions were stolen from him, travels with his caravan through a world in which the environment has been modified to defend itself from destruction. But when Colton meets a dangerously powerful woman named Sri Sa, he finds himself drawn into both a millennia-old conflict and a mysterious romance which could change the world itself. An exciting, action-packed story of the far future from two-time Nebula Award finalist Jason Sanford.