A near future technology brings connection and chaos to a remote Central Asian village in this Arthur C. Clarke Award–winning sci-fi novel. The remote farming villages of Karzistan have changed little over the centuries. But as a new communications technology sweeps the globe, even places without computers or powerlines will be connected. This technology—a network that channels directly into the mind—is called Air. Chung Mae is her village's resident fashion expert, bringing an uncommon knowledge of the wider world to her insular community. When an initial test of Air goes catastrophically wrong, Mae—and her brain—will never be the same. As the government announces another Air test, Mae must prepare the others for the profound changes to come. Caught between suspicious officials, wary villagers, and the voices in her head, Mae discovers the true cost of joining the future.