When the cure becomes something more than human, will we choose fear-or evolution? In the wake of a mysterious comet's arrival, Earth is forever changed. A crystalline pathogen-dubbed the Ferrophage-emerges, consuming iron, collapsing infrastructure, and rewriting the rules of biology. As cities fall and satellites blink out, humanity scrambles to survive a world where steel turns to dust and blood becomes fuel for something alien.Maya Sundre, an engineer and survivor, becomes the first to endure the infection and live. But she's not unchanged. As the Ferrophage evolves into the sentient Symphage, Maya becomes its bridge-caught between a species desperate to survive and an intelligence that no longer needs us. From the ruins of Reno to the icy depths of Antarctica, The Rust Plague is a sweeping, lyrical sci-fi epic of collapse, transformation, and first contact. Blending hard science with emotional depth, it explores the cost of survival, the ethics of adaptation, and the haunting question: what if the next step in evolution doesn't include us? Perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Liu Cixin, and Annihilation, this is a story of beauty born from ruin-and the choice between control and coexistence.