The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

The boy was raised as one of the Chained, condemned to toil in the bowels of a mining ship out among the stars.

His whole world changes - literally - when he is yanked 'upstairs' and informed he has been given an opportunity to be educated at the ship's university alongside the elite. Overwhelmed and alone, the boy forms a bond with the woman he comes to know as 'the professor.'

A weary idealist, the woman has spent her career striving for acceptance and validation from her more senior colleagues in the hopes of achieving a brighter future, only to fall short at every turn.

Together, the boy and the woman will embark on a transformative journey to grasp the design of the chains that fetter them both - and are the key to breaking free.