Modern-day Japan is the stage for a new form of hard science-fiction, as author Nobuaki Tadano revisits one of the genre's Grand Masters, Hal Clement, in his debut series 7 Billion Needles. Loosely based on Clement's golden age title Needle, Tadano's gripping homage follows the life of a teenage girl whose melancholy days are dramatically changed when her body becomes host to an alien life form caught up in an intergalactic manhunt. Always sporting her headphones to try to close out the people and the world around her, Hikaru is a somewhat reclusive teenaged girl. Within her body resides another lifeform known as Ciel, a hunter in search of an intergalactic murderer intent on wiping out humanity. In 7 Billion Needles, two lives share one heart as they race to protect each other and the memories they cherish.
