Superluminal

To pilot an interstellar spaceship a very special kind of human being is required. In the strange superluminal world which ships enter beyond the speed of light, ordinary humans age and wither and die apparently in seconds. Would-be space pilots are modified surgically; their hearts are removed and replaced by mechanical devices. Popularly known as "aztecs", they live mostly apart from the population at large. The story centres on three people: Laenea Trevelyan, a pilot; Radu Dracul, a scarred crewman from the colony world Twilight; and Orca, a woman who is a member of a community of divers —…