In this sequel to Dreamships, Melissa Scott tackles the concept of artificial intelligence and how it will impact society. Not the theoretical society of chess playing and super computing, but the gritty society where coolie laborers struggle for existence, and where political groups fight their battles on the streets through protests, riots, and bombings. Scott uses three characters--a high-tech stage magician, her deaf cousin who plays in a struggling band, and a starship pilot with a deep distrust for the artificial constructs she must work with--to explore her intense, if slow moving, future.