Book excerpt: The title story, like most of the other pieces, is character-centered as a single mother wrestles with high-tech taking over her town. "Patent Infringement" is a fine if brief epistolary story on the subject; "The Most Famous Little Girl in the World" is the story of the lifelong friendship of two women set against a background of alien contact. "First Flight" is an affectionate homage to the classic Tom Corbett, Space Cadet TV show of the 1950s. "To Cuddle Amy" is a powerful short-short horror story about disposable children. "My Mother, Dancing" deals with a human race called on to seed with life a completely barren universe.