Social fiction, nominated for the prestigious Nebula Award. Having spared innocent citizens, the minister goes into exile. The Queen builds a giant defense tower using devices brought by refugees from another reality. But even when the future calls, and the fate of man becomes indistinguishable from the fate of the world, the past pulls us back to happy times and unfulfilled hopes. The collection is supplemented by magical stories about the nature of reality, personality and ancient fantastic technologies. “Somewhere in the borderland between science fiction and fantasy - a little to the left of the early Ted Chiang, a few degrees south of Miéville - Yaroslav Barsukov, with a word, like a brush, brought out the world that I see when I close my eyes.” – Peter Watts “This stunning sci-fi tale of dangerous technology contains passages of stunning beauty that are worth returning to again and again.” – Kirkus Reviews