Newlywed Ranj leaves his bride Keiko on Earth and sets off on a mission to retrieve technological treasures from the magical civilization of 51 Pegasi 5. Once there, he becomes a captive, a plaything of the Fivers' insatiable need for entertainment, a living payment for the wonders his shipmates bring home to Earth To get him back, Keiko must subvert the entire structure of Earth civilization which has become dependent on Fiver technology and is not afraid to sacrifice a few young men and women every so often to pay for it. But how can one small girl overturn a world run by a Coterie of Technocrats headed by the red-robed Human Factors Programmer himself? By hard work, clever planning and a little misuse of Fiver technology she puts herself in position to be reunited with her husband. Now all she has to do is cross the dark, cold places between the stars.
Newlywed Ranj leaves his bride Keiko on Earth and sets off on a mission to retrieve technological treasures from the magical civilization of 51 Pegasi 5. Once there, he becomes a captive, a plaything of the Fivers' insatiable need for entertainment, a living payment for the wonders his shipmates bring home to Earth To get him back, Keiko must subvert the entire structure of Earth civilization which has become dependent on Fiver technology and is not afraid to sacrifice a few young men and women every so often to pay for it. But how can one small girl overturn a world run by a Coterie of Technocrats headed by the red-robed Human Factors Programmer himself? By hard work, clever planning and a little misuse of Fiver technology she puts herself in position to be reunited with her husband. Now all she has to do is cross the dark, cold places between the stars.