Dragon Pearl

Min wakes up in the medical bay of the Pale Lightning, the ship on which her brother was once stationed as a cadet in the Space Forces. The ship’s crew rescued her from the attacking mercenaries. The ghost of a boy named Jang explains that he died in the attempt to rescue Min. Min offers to use her fox magic to pose as Jang and find out who is responsible for his death. She offers this option with an ulterior motive, for she knows that assuming the dead boy’s appearance will let her stay on board her brother’s ship undetected and conduct her own investigation into his whereabouts. Jang agrees and does not seem bothered by the realization that Min is a fox, one of the “supernaturals.” Min assumes Jang’s appearance and fools the diagnostic check that a physician performs on her. As a result, she herself is marked as dead in the ship’s database, while the physician tells “Jang” (really Min) that she is free to go. Unsure of how best to blend in with the social norms of this bewildering new environment, Min is left to wonder, “Go where, exactly?” (90).