The Time-Techs of Kra

An investigative agent probes a mysterious technological secret tied to a colossal subterranean shaft and a novel transport called a Diamvator that traverses the Earth-Tube, uncovering encounters with powerful insect-like beings who manipulate time and the competing interests of corporate and governmental forces; narrative alternates between procedural inquiry, speculative engineering exposition, and encounters that reveal unfamiliar intelligences and temporal technologies, exploring themes of human ambition, the hubris of large-scale engineering, and the limits of perception when facing nonhuman mastery of time.