The Brittle Giant

A Novel of the Civilian Compact

By: K. R. Calder

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

For eighty years, bio-sculptor Milena Volkov has lived a life of purpose, coaxing breathtaking art from living light in a society that has conquered need. The distant war against the alien Hugabouts is an abstraction, a problem for the ruling class of Citizens to manage while she and her partner, Yuri, pursue their passions. But when the government unilaterally enacts the War Mobilization Acts, their peaceful world shatters.

First, they come for her art, declaring her life's work "non-essential" and seizing her studio. Then, they come for her partner, conscripting Yuri into military service through a civic lottery that feels more like a targeted theft. Left with nothing but a cold, diamond-hard fury, Milena discovers her voice.

A single, heart-felt speech at a community meeting transforms the grieving artist into an accidental revolutionary. Hunted by the state and guided by a shadowy retired senator , Milena becomes the face of "No Obligation," a non-violent resistance movement fighting to restore the rights of a populace that has been disenfranchised for centuries. As the government’s propaganda machine twists her protest into an act of treason , Milena must learn to wield her new power, forcing a final confrontation that will either save the soul of the Federation or shatter it forever.