What compels people to do what they do? What are the driving forces that so utterly determine how they live their lives? Take faith, for instance. A person's unwavering belief in something can be so strong that it fully determines the nature of their outlook on the universe. It can be a vehicle for benevolent acts, or a weapon to drive people to fanatical levels of brutality. Or maybe love is responsible for the actions people take. Love of a significant other, a group, an idea, or even love of the self. How about revenge, prejudice, or the desire to embrace individualism?

Whatever driving force an individual or group may choose to deem the most essential, at some point its repetition and the emphasis of its paramount importance transforms it into what can safely be referred to as a value. This anthology explores the aforementioned values, and others, in five independent stories, with the common thread of examining how people will adhere to their personal beliefs while in pivotal situations. Whether they be on an alien planet not all that dissimilar to Earth, under a dome on some unhospitable barren rock, or on a generational spaceship on a course to a new world, this collection of science fiction stories will demonstrate how the driving forces in people's lives shape the very fabric of their existence.

Also, these stories will beg the question: Are the values in these alien settings so very different than the ones we hold dear on our own planet?

Or, are some values perhaps...universal?

From the author of Black Hole Solitude comes another thrilling collection of short stories. Journey to an asteroid field owned by the Savas Imperium, to a commercial space station orbiting Caled IV, and to the surface of the planet Verdana. You'll experience the lives of the people inhabiting these places and endure the struggles they face right along with them. So, what are you waiting for? Action, adventure, and interstellar intrigue await!

A collection of science fiction tales from the mind of Bryon Mayfield. Science fiction fans, prepare to be transported into a living universe. This collection contains an interstellar insect searching for individualism inside a collapsed star, a fisherman in the dark abyss of a water planet, a scrapper seeking wealth in the coldest reaches of the void, and more. So, open your mind, bring your imagination, and strap in.