"Lavender ultimately came to Antboy, having scrubbed away her wretched state of punishment, to regrettably end what they had unfortunately begun." It is Birthing Season Ten, nearly fourteen years since Antboy and the colonists left earth to conduct a historic experiment for preserving the human race in the event of a global catastrophe: A space-borne colony based on the remarkable survival habits of the Ant. To the colonists, thirteen year old Atum, the first human born in space, but "deselected" by the Colony's Female leaders because of a perceived genetic inferiority, is believed to no longer exist. Rescued, then sheltered by Antboy, Atum has lived in hiding since birth, steadily learning from the man he calls Father. Atum discovers that Antboy's mysterious communications with ants laid the groundwork for earth's first satellite Colony, and the nearly indecipherable Codex, the Colony's Book of Laws that governs its day to day survival. Through its deliberate and horrific distortion of Antboy's childhood research of ant colonies, the dreaded Codex commands the roles of Human Mothers, Workers and the all-powerful Queen, while disempowering the males. Observing a grand experiment gone terribly wrong, Antboy seeks to correct the distortions of his achievement, while concealing his forbidden love. At the same time, Atum desperately seeks to know his Mother. Secretly planning to leave the protection of his isolated home, Atum's every move risks destroying the Mother he seeks, and threatens to collapse the Colony.