both the process of removing memories from an enemy to find out secrets and the process of implanting other memories that can go as far as altering one's identity and changing one's allegiance. Orbiting space colony - FirStep has its own gravity and a vulnerable environment that plays a key role in the action of the trilogy. Removable mind implants - Characters exchange mind implants and otherwise interface with them. These removable implants (like memory chips or USB ports) are controlled or accessed using fingernail taps. This augmentation is viewed with suspicion and is essentially outlawed in the United States, where some key figures are jailed for its use. While this is a common feature in other cyberpunk literature, Shirley's deep exploration of this is notable. Surreptitious aerial surveillance - Artificial birds that are barely distinguishable from real ones act much like drones that take pictures and otherwise spy and surveil. Jaegernauts - Large rolling war machines that can destroy entire city blocks, high rises and other large buildings. Technicki – A somewhat subversive language developed by the working class, poorly understood and not well tolerated by others. Buildings as drugs - As with other cyberpunk literature, intoxication has also changed with advances in technology, chemistry and other factors. In one scene in the second novel, a character ascends higher into a "place that is a drug," where atmospheric stimulants ranging from mists to light stimulation deepen his intoxication. "Instead of you swallowing the drug, the drug swallows you." References Science fiction book series Science fiction novel trilogies Cyberpunk novels