Stories Set in Concrete

A civilization that has endured for hundreds of millions of years should have seen almost everything. Yet humanity continues expanding into countless universes, building cities and institutions on an unimaginable scale, and living within them. The Everlasting Empire is vast and ancient, yet it continues to grow, not in pursuit of some distant destiny, but simply because its people are still living and pursuing their own interests. Beyond the Empire’s borders, Everglow pursues its own ideal: creating an infinite universe. Its experiments require energy drawn from existing universes, and as the surrounding universes are gradually depleted, Everglow’s interests begin to clash with the Empire’s. What follows is a conflict between two civilizations, not a war in which heroes and villains can be neatly distinguished. As it unfolds, politics, intelligence, technology, warfare, institutions, and ordinary people’s lives become increasingly intertwined. Things on Concrete tells the story of the people, institutions, and events within a civilization that has endured for hundreds of millions of years.