Christine Cianci

Walking the Mosaic Christine Cianci

On an alternate Earth, Constantine lost, Rome never became a backwater, and the Dark Ages never existed. Two millennia later, nations under a Global Authority have colonized Mars and the belt, developed FTL travel and established an extrasolar colony in a star system occupied by intelligent beings nicknamed Lemurians.

Nova Roma is an aging republic, home of the Global Authority's peacekeepers. In Nova Roma's fascist past, a secret genetics program developed "Specials", individuals capable of manipulating the electrical synaptic functions within the human brain. A few hundred years later, Specials now make up an isolated minority in the general population, used as healers, lie detectors, spies.

The story follows Kashmira of ancient family who manifests as Special later in life, then flees from her duty to be used as spy for the state; her lover Sian, an ambitious and class-conscious peacekeeper; some Specials with a plan for a better future for their kind and a group of Specials labeled as terrorists who seek sanctuary with the Lemurians. Their plight sparks a revolution that spreads back across the stars to Rome to change the future of humans, Specials and aliens alike.