Darwins Children

by Greg Bear

A human endogenous retrovirus, SHEVA, begins to spread, attaching to people's chromosomes. As it becomes active, it causes the birth of millions of genetically-altered children. To the government, that represents a deadly threat to public health and safety and so it takes the mutated children from their parents and place them in concentration camps.

The children communicate by using complex verbal tricks, enhanced facial expressions, and psychoactive chemical scents made from their own bodies. They also form stable groups that minimize conflict and maximize cooperation. Mitch Rafelson and his wife, Kaye Lang, have a SHEVA daughter named Stella Nova that they try to shield from the government's Emergency Action forces, but the child is captured and sent to a camp. A government virus researcher, Christopher Dicken, makes significant discoveries, as does Kaye.