The Children Star

The planet of Prokaryon is harsh , uninhabitable to normal humans, accessible only to those willing to be genetically altered, a painful process. It is the perfect site for a colony of orphans founded by Brother Rod. When Proteus Unlimited, a greedy corporation, reveals its plans to terraform Prokaryon, making it habitable to humans and thereby netting huge profits, the research for native life becomes a race against time. Lost in this shuffle of bureaucracy is this colony of orphans, which will be wiped out when the entire surface of the planet is boiled off. Will the hidden masters surface in time to save their planet?

Joan Slonczewski is an associate professor and chair of the department of biology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.