A stupid practical joke expels our adolescent hero from school and into a new job opportunity in outer space. Leaving parents more interested in his support payments than his well-being, he moves from apathy to a desire to gain one of the few spots available. Finally he s realizing he has a brain, and feelings, and even courage. Further south lie communities more interested in money and power and less willing to live and let live. Confuscianist, Neo-Victorian, etc.
Nanotechnology is commonplace.
When John Hackworth, Neo-Victorian engineer, creates the Primer on commission for a wealthy patron s niece, he can t resist making an illegal copy for his daughter. When this is stolen and lands in the hands of a poor thete girl, it radically changes her life and, eventually, the course of history. Two trunks of stories growing parallel soon join in surprising ways. In a world of aristocracy and slaves, a quest is begun to prevent disaster. In a modern city, cop Dora Henry is investigating the puzzling murders of scientists as sentient greenery spreads through the streets.