Recombinant Love — K'Anne Meinel

While hiking the mountains and deserts of Arizona with her best friend, D.O.G., Ryley Graham hears a whirring noise. Thinking D.O.G. has cornered a rattlesnake, she rushes to protect him and is blinded by a light seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously. Waking up 510 years later, she is confused by the unfamiliar machinery and 'people' that surround her. Skeptical when she is informed she is aboard a spaceship that explores wormholes, it takes a great deal of effort to finally convince Ryley she isn't in a government-owned facility and part of some huge experiment or conspiracy. Adjusting to the odd life forms that coexist on the ship, Ryley begins to accept that she can never go back to Earth 2015, and she begins to contribute her own unique knowledge and skills to their survival. As Ryley makes new friends, one of them begins to stand out... Mercedes is a woman...half human and half android. She is struggling to understand her human side and the odd feelings she is developing for this Earthwoman. Learning about love, and learning to love will be huge challenges as Ryley and Mercedes begin to forge a future. What impact will it have when they discover the real reason Ryley was taken in the first place?