In this sequel to SHANJI, Yesui is Mei-lai-gong, the empress of light, born with the ability to move both light and mass in and out of the place of creation called the gong-shi-jie. Her brother Mengjai, seemingly normal at birth, conceals a power Yesui has not imagined.
Together they discover there is more to the gong-shi-jie than just colorful mists of creative light. Working to save a dying planet, they learn that love can be found in strange places, that in an infinite universe, no matter how many powers you have, there is always someone more powerful, and death is not an ending, but a change...
The time: the 1840s. The place: California during the gold rush. As the white settlers begin penetrating the remote mountain canyons, they discover an ancient race, the Tenanken, who date back at least sixty thousand years. Some members retain the genetic memories of their distant past, while others project mystical visions of comfort and joy.
All flee the coming of the white man, and appear to be doomed to extinction. Only the genius Pegre finds a possible solution: integrate and intermarry with their distant white "cousins," the Hinchai, and form a new entity.
He's aided by the girl Baela, whose emerging mental powers only appear every hundred generations -- and opposed by the cruel Tenanken warrior, Hidaig, who supports traditional values, and is willing to kill anyone who opposes him. Can the ancient and modern be merged and preserved? Or will the special genetic heritage of the Tenanken be lost forever?
Kati thought she was Tumatsin, but her real father was Moshuguang, a Searcher, one of those working to bring down the feudal empire on Shanji and establish a progressive society. Ruled by Mandughai, the emerald-eyed empress of a neighboring star, the Searchers are looking for the person who has inherited the power to be a super being. They believe Kati is that person, and with training from Mandughai, Kati's powers exceed her trainer's power. To bring unity to Shanji and to establish her rule, Kati finally realizes she must go to war with her beloved Mandughai.
