From two cultures that should never meet, come four people who do.
Rire. The homeworld of a science-driven and inclusive civilization, underpinned by an AI network of arbiters and spanning a handful of worlds. Pilots like Ann are essential due to the nature of faster-than-light travel, called reality skimming. But Reetions view their pilots -- with their larger-than-life personalities -- as reckless and in need of monitoring and control. Therefore, when Ann is sent on a mission to the long-lost empire of Sevildom after 200 years of separation, she must be accompanied by the brilliant scholar Ranar, a renowned expert on Sevolite culture and language.
Gelion. In the Sevolite empire, piloting aptitude is hereditary and determines social standing. Sevolites are enhanced humans with superhuman capacity for reality skimming, and rule over the natural humans they call "commoners." It's believed they may have been bioengineered in the far past, at the fuzzy dawn of human origins on Earth. Di Mon is the leader of one of the 8 families in the oligarchy at the heart of Sevildom. Although a power broker in a corrupt and elitist court, he believes in the equality of all humankind. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the hierarchy, the beautiful dancer and courtesan named Von struggles to survive as a pawn in the power games of his Sevolite superiors.
