A drawback is that they are now inexorably tied to the planet. Those that adapt to the spore are given increased health and healing, allowing for a longer lifespan and rapid recovery of severe injuries. A spore on the planet causes genetic alterations in humans, ranging from mild to deadly and include sterility. It is only after they begin classes that they're given the real 'full disclosure' the official warnings didn't provide. She's accepted after several interviews and further warnings about the planet and joins the others that have applied in the shuttle that takes them down to the surface. Undaunted, Killashandra decides to apply to the Guild. However, the planet is classified as a hazardous environment and a mere 30,000 people live there, all part of the Heptite Guild. The crystals are cut from mountain ranges using infrasonic cutters, explaining why her perfect pitch was of especial interest to her companion. People who live on the planet can earn a lot of credits from the harvesting of a unique resource: Ballyban crystals, which have a wide range of uses, including instantaneous inter-planetary communications and spaceship drives. What little she is able to discover learns only deepens the mystery.

After arriving at the space station orbiting the planet, she decides to find out more about the mysterious planet he had tried to dissuade her from earlier. Killashandra agrees to accompany the body back to Ballybran, his planet of residence, partly because she is impressed with how much respect the man was afforded during the short time she knew him. Before the engines can be shut off, they explode, killing the man and causing extensive damage to the spaceport.

The man rushes to port authorities to alert them once again of the danger he detected from a ship's crystal drive. Killashandra is reluctant to talk about it, but as the meal and conversation continues, the noise increases to the audible range. During a meal, the man notices her reacting to something on a subharmonic level and the conversation turns to music. While trying to decide what to do with her life, she travels to the spaceport and meets a man who is on vacation and offers to let her enjoy the vacation with him. Angry that the music instructor deliberately led her on, wasting ten years of her life, and too prideful to accept lesser roles, she abandons her career and leaves. The first novel, Crystal Singer, opens with Killashandra receiving the most devastating news of her life: a flaw in her singing voice will keep her from being the lead in operas.

Cristal singer