After a disaster, technology protects some people and some places but not others: '“Do you think the people on the outside are okay?” “Seeing as they’re always trying to get in here, I take it they’re not.”.“We should just let them in.” “We— We can’t.” “Why?”'
Set in New Delta, a city rebuilt on drained swampland in former oilfields, the protagonist, Chioma, is expectant and is caught up in labor during a violent, unpredicted storm linked to bioengineered periwinkle grass.
Set in a coastal region, the story explores how marine technologies, specifically the use of energy-intensive drones for precision kelp monitoring, undermine the very benefits they aim to deliver.
The story features an ambitious young environmental studies graduate, who is keen and eager to bring change but her dreams are shattered by state corruption and climate injustice.