The plan had been to un-man the battlespace, replacing flesh and blood with steel and carbon fiber. Machines, both remote-controlled and autonomous A.I.s, would fight and be destroyed in the name of freedom; sparing the troops at the cost of the nation's treasure.

However, as with any arms race, the opposing side's technology eventually catches ups to yours, resulting in the need to put lives back in harm's way on the frontline; to deal with, and adapt to the unknown, as only humans can.

With stories by Brenda Cooper, Bud Sparhawk, Jennifer Brozek, Ronald T. Garner, Aaron Rosenberg, James Chambers, Nancy Jane Moore, Patrick Thomas, Jeff Young, Eric V. Hardenbrook, Robert E. Waters, Anton Kukal, and Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and an afterword by the late CJ Henderson.

Brenda Cooper writes science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories, and sometimes, poetry. Her most recent novel is Spear of Darkness, from Pyr and her most recent story collection is Cracking the Sky from Fairwood Press. Brenda is a technology professional and a futurist, and publishes non-fiction on the environment and the future. Her non-fiction has appeared on Slate and Crosscut and her short fiction has appeared in Nature Magazine, among other venues. She is a two-time winner of the Endeavour Award for best Science Fiction/Fantasy novel by an author in the Pacific Northwest. See her website at www.brenda-cooper.com. Brenda lives in the Pacific Northwest in a household with three people, three dogs, far more than three computers, and only one TV in it.