Gaia's Toys

Gaia's Toys is a science fiction adventure by Rebecca Ore. The story is set in the near future when gene-hacking, medical nanotechnology, and environmental damage are commonplace. The lives of several of society's misfits intertwine in accelerating action. The title is ironic because humans play with earth's creatures as if they were toys while the modified creatures, in turn, shape us.

Plot summary

Willie Hunsucker is a veteran on the dole, taking a monthly trip to Roanoke so the government can use his brain power for whatever purposes it deems appropriate. Willie is starting to remember bits and pieces of this time. He has an unusually large praying mantis that soothes him when he flashes back to his war service. He doesn't know it but the mantis's pheromes are increasing his memories and his initiative.

Dorcas Rae is a gene technician and mistress to the lab supervisor. On the sly, she created the mantises that have become so popular with people on the dole. The government wants to find who did this. She has also created a wasp that will sting when it senses aggressiveness in people.