FICTION
-Because stories matter-

Transforming Orphan Town into a lectral-powered wonder is enough excitement for Alvin Esker. He likes his incandescents and wires and learning about the new scientific discoveries of the Scholars. But one day Alvin lets his mind wander (like he once did) to the stars, and when he does, he discovers something impossible out in the wild Expanse—a girl called Hanna. She arrives in secret, in search of an artifact from the ancient world, a book that illuminates its reader, a book she believes lies hidden within Orphan Town itself, in the very care of the Scholars. Before he knows what he’s doing, Alvin sets out to prove to Hanna that no such thing exists, and quickly becomes drawn into a conspiracy across generations, and triggers an experiment that gives him the sight to see the mystery of all mysteries: a language written in the stars, the language the universe is made of. What’s more, he starts rewriting it. In so doing, he unwittingly begins to unravel and destroy the town he loves, the land that surrounds it, and the entire continent beyond. So Alvin and Hanna embark on a desperate race to the distant north in search of the source of the experiment, to undo the damage they unleashed, a journey that will pit them against a merciless wasteland, zealous tribes, the upheaval of the world, and the evil within their own hearts. Along the way they, they will test their loyalties, their friendships, and their deepest beliefs. Together they discover the lost history of the Expanse, impossible technologies, an ancient synthetic intelligence, and the gateway to the mythic paradise in the heart of the earth. But will it be enough to set right Alvin’s mistakes, before he and Hanna and even Orphan Town are obliterated from existence altogether?