BOOK 3: A LABYRINTH OF SMOKE: PREMISE//
Machindoun is a city of steel and steam hewn out of granite cliffs and powered by winds, waters, and the molten lifeblood of the World itself. Merchant lords and gentlemen farmers dominate the political landscape, floating above the Antipodes from the comfort of their sky yachts. Half a million people walk the cobblestone streets and alleys of the Machinist City. Here, the laws of New Earth's Covenant are distant and impotent. Scientists and inventors are free to explore the mysteries of the universe, limited only by the sky itself and the depths of their coin purses. Liberty, intellectualism, and industry without bounds are Machindoun's greatest virtues.
But what of those who weren't born with gold coins in their hands, or couldn't earn their way to the tops of the social and political ladders? What of those who work better with their backs than with their brains? What of those who aren't willing to crush everyone around them to achieve success? Where do such people fit into a society where altruism is the quaint pursuit of a handful of wealthy philanthropists and misguided mythics; where law enforcers protect business and political interests instead of citizens; where there are no Magisters and no Covenant to protect the downtrodden and enforce equality?
What will happen when Tru Arneau and her friends enter the city gates in search of the truths needed to bring balance to a World walking a razor's edge between war and peace?
But what of those who weren't born with gold coins in their hands, or couldn't earn their way to the tops of the social and political ladders? What of those who work better with their backs than with their brains? What of those who aren't willing to crush everyone around them to achieve success? Where do such people fit into a society where altruism is the quaint pursuit of a handful of wealthy philanthropists and misguided mythics; where law enforcers protect business and political interests instead of citizens; where there are no Magisters and no Covenant to protect the downtrodden and enforce equality?
What will happen when Tru Arneau and her friends enter the city gates in search of the truths needed to bring balance to a World walking a razor's edge between war and peace?