At the Aya School, human children learn alien culture in a completely restricted environment to enable them to compete in the politics and economy of an alien-influenced Earth. The finest student of the school is the child of wealthy parents and a member of the Fine Hunt circuit--an outgrowth of traditional horse racing where bio-engineered horses are controlled by "riders" linked to electronic interfaces. As one of the up-and-coming "riders," the student is lured into the seedier world of the Claw Hunt, and discovers what the Aya aliens have really been teaching!? In the tradition of Sheri S. Tepper, Melissa Scott, and Connie Willis? Polymorph has been optioned for a TV movie