Zoi

At the age of five, Amira watched footage of the first zoi specimen arriving in our solar system, and she became instantly fascinated with the huge, cell-like creature floating among the stars.

Decades later, she and three other astronauts have taken residence in a zoi as it continues its voyage through space.

They have no way of steering its course. Communicating with their non-sentient host is limited to signals of physical needs. And while the zoi meets those needs, it also exposes its passengers to hormonal and even genetic alterations.

Now, as masses of biological material start growing on each astronaut, their interstellar journey begins a new stage--one with far-reaching consequences both for the humans and the zois.