Disqualified

Tardo is a Planetary Aid agent for the Galactic Council, trained to evaluate newly discovered worlds and determine which civilizations deserve incorporation into the greater galactic community. His latest assignment seems straightforward: assess the inhabitants of a distant planet, report on their progress, and recommend whether they qualify for admission. But the deeper Tardo digs into this seemingly primitive society, the more uncomfortable he becomes with the Council's rigid definitions of civilization and worth. When the truth about the planet's inhabitants threatens everything the Galactic Council believes about progress and superiority, Tardo must choose between his duty and his conscience. A sharp, absorbing novella that asks who decides which beings count as fully human, and what price that judgment exacts from everyone involved.