In these tales, dragons soar over small towns, mech-animals dream of freedom, and techno-witches weave spells against a world ruled by machines. A painter wrestles with transcendence, an aging scorpion helps his daughter escape tradition, and a consciousness aboard a starship witnesses the death and rebirth of the cosmos. Blending science fiction and fantasy with profound meditations on identity, memory, and connection, the stories in this collection are at times thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and wonderous.