18 speculative short stories...A father and his young son face a choice-risk their lives by extending kindness to a person who is not supposed to exist or risk their souls by walking on. In a dark and starless world where magical creatures are hunted and destroyed, a captive girl's courage sets in motion a wish that will change the skyscape forever. A microbiologist sees things that others do not. But isn't that the nature of science? A scientist from a dying planet weighs the value of one individual life against the lives of many. An ancient being questions the validity of doctrine. A clone questions what it means to be human. CORE TRUTHS: Speculative literary fiction that gleans its energy from the fantastical, making us think about who we are as people, about those Core Truths that govern the lives we choose to live.