Weerde are creatures which are shape changers, vampires and elves. In this story they are the second intelligent life form on Earth, descended from mammals they developed shape changing skills as a response to the challenge posed by the dinosaurs.Prologue: Raised Voices in a Reading Room: I o short fiction by Roz KaveneyImaginary Time o short story by Stephen BaxterThe Girl Who Changed Everything o novelette by Colin GreenlandDeep in the Native Land o short story by Michael IbejiIgnorance of Perfect Reason o novella by Roz KaveneySounds and Sweet Airs o novelette by Graham HigginsSerpent's Blood o short story by Molly BrownCover Story o novella by Liz HollidayThe If Game o novelette by Paula WakefieldThe Lions in the Desert o short story by David LangfordThe Missing Martian o novelette by Marcus L. RowlandThe Deconstruction of the Known World o novelette by Elizabeth M. YoungRed, Hot and Dark o novelette by Charles StrossEpilogue: Raised Voices in a Reading Room: II o short fiction by Roz Kaveney