The Granite Letter

In what was the United States, 120 years in our future, two rival groups remain: white supremacists (aka “dragons”) and the Community of Enclaves of Reason.

The Elders of the Lawrence Enclave of Reason task Seeker Arisia with finding the lost Hope Chest, which holds keys to the survival of a free and open society. But if the dragons locate it first, they will destroy it as part of their plan to eradicate the Enclaves of Reason and resurrect a white, authoritarian nation. Arisia and her team journey through wilderness crawling with dragons to the ruins of Kansas City in their search for the Hope Chest. But the dragons have an ace up their sleeve: a spy on Arisia’s team. 

Meanwhile, 30 years in our future, during a mission to the far side of the moon, astronaut Sam falls into a deep depression due to looming climate catastrophes at the same moment that he hears an odd trilling sound and passes out. Unable to find the source of the trill, Sam returns home to Wisconsin, where he struggles to follow through on a commitment to his wife to have a child and start a family in a faltering world. In a bid to recover his lost hope and save his marriage, Sam ventures to Venus on a mission for an obsessed, eccentric billionaire. There, Sam discovers the source of the trill he heard on the moon, which may save humanity’s future—if he survives. 

And 12,000 years in our past, in what will become Wisconsin, ten-year-old Shyaklá, ever curious and adventurous, hears a strange trill that implores her to journey to a nearby hilltop. There, a mysterious creature offers the promise of a gift that will save Shyaklá’s world from being eaten by fire. But to retrieve the gift, Shyaklá and her community must do the impossible: journey to the evening and morning star. 

Across time and space, Arisia, Sam, and Shyaklá must complete their quests to save the future of those they will never know.