THIRDS is the first of THE NEBULA TALES, a space opera at the juncture of political science, biology, and fantasy. Reaching the Orion Nebula, humans encounter a space-faring society - Surana. Suranans are tri-sexual: there are three genders - males, females, and tris. The biology and interdependence among the three Suranan sexes result in pervasive and deeply seated discrimination against tris. Consequently, tris are excluded from much of polite society and therefore live lives which are often short, brutal, and miserable. On Surana, biology drives politics, violence descends, and Surana threatens to explode.