Using the continuing failure of the Oversoul, the artificially intelligent guardian computer of the earth Harmony, the human colonists have begun to do it again the devastations of war and conquest wrought on Earth. To correct itself and avert catastrophe, the Oversoul has called several sixteen refugees in the fallen town of Basilica to a concealed, abandoned spaceport where in fact the historic starships lie. Now Wetchik, Nafai, and almost all their family members must brave the desert wastes and mix the wide continents, led by the tone of voice of the Oversoul, to await the command to prepare the fantastic interstellar ships for flight again. But among this group, not all have selected their exile, as well as the upset resentment of those who were forced to join will make the difficult trip harder.

“[T]he book increases to great power….Cards [is] one of the genuinely towering skills working in technology fiction today….this volume carries forward an excellent story.”-Booklist