Forever Pearl — Claudia McKay

Global warming has rendered the earth practically unlivable. The Consortium, an intergalactic East India Company has established colonies on other planets. On one such planet, they have discovered a substance, pearl, which intoxicates the user, and appears to prolong life indefinitely. Needless to say, it is in high demand. When the supply dries up, agent Sonya Shankar is sent to investigate. Are workers stealing the pearl, as the Consortium believes, or is the disappearance of pearl a more complex and sinister puzzle, with answers no one wants to hear?