A science park creates synthetic life to repopulate the oceans, but to ruinous effect. A local retelling brings the tragic story of Sweeney Todd to colonial Singapore. And a far-future heiress falls in love with an alien life form and must make an existential decision.

"In this gem of a short story collection, Shelly Bryant explores the trajectory of Singapore as a launch pad-a bridge between worlds, a crossroads-taking the reader on a journey of discovery from the earliest days of Singapura to the far future. It is a journey into our past, present and future, one that seems at once astonishing and yet totally real, totally plausible." -Tina Kanagaratnam, from the introduction