Part 1, Urchin: Poke, Kitchen, Payback, Memories, Chapters 1-4 Summary

The story begins with a street scene in Rotterdam. The time is in the future and space travel is very common. The earth has united to face a common enemy, the Formics, also called the Buggers. The Formics are intelligent insects that depend on a queen to do the thinking for each hive group. They live light years away on several worlds, each with its own queen. Two battles with the Formics have been fought and won, and preparations for a third and final battle are underway.

In Chapter 1, many children live in poverty on the streets of Rotterdam. Poke is one of them and is only nine years old. She heads a crew, which is a gang of children around her age. She sees a skinny child who...