The Collapsium - Tapa dura

The Queendom of Sol enjoys a peaceful and prosperous existence, thanks to the use of two powerful technologies--the wellstone, a form of programmable mater, and the collapsium, a lethal crystal made up of miniature black holes--until a ruthless saboteur ignites an apocalyptic crisis, and two rival scientists must work together to prevent total annihilation.

retches the boundaries of science fiction like Wil McCarthy does. Now this acclaimed author has crafted his most wildly ambitious and stunningly original novel yet, an unforgettable tale set in a wondrous future in which the secrets of matter have been unlocked and death itself is but a memory. A future also imperiled by a bitter rivalry between two brilliant scientists: one perhaps the greatest genius in the history of humankind, the other, its greatest monster . . .

In the eighth decade of the glorious reign of Her Majesty Tamra Lutui, the Queendom of Sol enjoys a peace and prosperity even gods might envy. In fact, two awesome technologies have given human beings all the powers--and caprices--of the gods they once worshiped. The first is wellstone, a form of programmable matter capable of emulating almost any substance: natural, artificial, even hypothetical. The second is collapsium, a deadly crystal, composed of miniature black holes, that allows the virtually instantaneous transmissi