Hitherto a Lion

Thirty billion light years from Earth, two hundred toroidal colonies spin within a black nebula of organic matter. The human colonists of the Hæl triple star system are under siege by the B¿zch invaders. Cognizant beings cannot hide from the B¿zch, and when a human falls into their red, gnarled hands, they are spun into stardust, until the theory of them is gone from the universe.Now Fel, the black biomechanical lion, wearily hunts the B¿zch across the African toroidal colony known as the Long Savanna. Here he is tested. Here he is followed by a haunting song and a dream of a familiar human woman ....