<p> The crib is everywhere . . . </p> <p> Edie Sha'nim believes she and her bodyguard lover, Finn, could find refuge from the tyranny of the Crib empire by fleeing to the Fringe worlds. But Edie's extraordinary cypherteck ability to manipulate the ecology of evolving planets makes her far too valuable for the empire to lose. Recaptured and forced to cooperate?or else she will watch Finn die?Edie is shocked to discover the Crib's new breed of cypherteck: <i>children</i>. She cannot stand by while the oppressors enslave the innocent, nor can she resist the lure of Scarabaeus, the first world she tried to save, when researchers discover what appears to be an evolving intelligence. </p> <p> But escape?for Edie, for Finn, and for the exploited young?will require the ultimate sacrifice . . . and a shocking act of rebellion. </p>