He veered off course, rode a faint ripple toward Mira, and extended a tow line. “Hold on!” he shouted. She grabbed it, and together, using the combined weight, they created a new wave—a small, shared ripple. They rode it slowly, side by side, crossing the finish line dead last.

And on these waves, the craziest games in the galaxy were played.

Kaelen smiled. He remembered something his grandmother, an old wave wanderer, had told him: “You don’t fight the wave. You ask where it wants to go, and you go there faster.”