User summary: In the distant future, the bulk of humanity lives in huge self-sustaining space stations of incredibly advanced technology. Most of the people living there have no idea how to work the machines, and thus society has reverted to an almost feudal state. Food and water are exuded from machinery, but these oases form the source of power for groups within the stations, so their availability is not a given. The stations are connected by teleportation doorways that are locked into a single destination - things like spaceships are almost unknown here, as most of the people have a deep fear of the vacuum of outer space.