David Selby was born and grew up in Berkeley, California. He taught elementary school in California, Mexico, and New Mexico for thirty-six years. He and his wife live in Northwest New Mexico.  He has written many short stories including the Joe the Man with Gills series. Mica is his first novel.

Mica, an expert navigator, uses the currents of the Darkstream to pilot his ship across the galaxy to join his love, Olivine. On the way, he befriends Ronnie, a stowaway who can look like a coat or a first aid kit, the mysterious Vuud, and the translucent “Slight People”. They experience the savage planet of Carnage and the whirling destruction of the Moon of 10,000 Drones before they even reach Olivine in the brand-new city of Garner in the midst of an unknown world.


Mica

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about coincidences, but last Savedry, as they say here, was strange, perhaps a coincidence even. I woke up in my comfortable partamento, dialed in an orange wall to match my sunny mood. Creaked over to the bathroom-still pretty sore from that encounter with the mafas in the park-and had a delightful shower. I still can't get over the availability of this wonder stuff: water.


I started thinking about Olive and my plans for the day; looking forward to exploring the Fallows, really all the land that is not Garner or Pyrite. In other words, the vast area that makes up most of the planet. I started thinking about a remark Olive made a couple of days ago about how I had "unlimited leisure time". At first I just laughed about it and my truly good fortune to be so free. But, Olive is working every week while I am available pretty much to arrange my schedule as I please.


Chapter 25: Into the Fallows, Part 1