Rocks Can Dance | SAMPLE | ❖

❖ When a sentient planet turns hostile after 150 years of quiet, two rival research groups must join forces to find out why---and to stop it before it kills the people who call it home. ❖

For five generations, Jenu has been a shining example of planetary colonization done right. Its surface boasts three cities---with a fourth on its way---and its history of amiable weather and hospitable citizens land it high scores on livability indices. The people who live there love it dearly.

Lingmei Liu sees a different picture. In recent years, violent dust storms on the planet have been on the rise, threatening the cities' aging infrastructure. Just why is a mystery, but one clue looms large: Jenu is conscious, and might be able to control its surface weather. Commissioned to investigate, Lingmei and her scientific colleagues team up with a rival research group to put data and sense to Jenu's vagaries.

What starts out as a simple study, though, soon veers into politics, the media, and shady business practices that may or may not be connected to the planet's new behavior. And all the while, the storms keep building. As half-answers multiply, three core questions remain in the scientists' hands:

Can Jenu's cities be convinced to take action to protect themselves?

Is the planet sending its own storms to strike those cities?

And if so, why?

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