Metropolitan — Walter Jon Williams

A burning woman stalks the streets. Ten stories tall, her naked body a holocaust of fire.

That horrific vision is all Aiah thinks of as she sleepwalks through her dead-end job meting out plasm -- a mysterious and powerful substance created by geomancy from the intrinsic power of the city structures -- and ticketing the outlaw plasm divers who burrow through abandoned cellars looking for untapped sources.

But Aiah has learned that plasm is more than an energy source; it resonates within the human mind, giving power to heal, to fuel dreams and visions, and to kill. So when she finds an undiscovered, unlimited supply, she dares to meet with the powerful Metropolitan known as Constantine, a handsome, mysterious rebel with plans.

Together they can use the plasm to rally forces to overthrow not only the government but the culture it has enslaved. They know the dangers of their maneuvers. They have no idea how dangerous it will be to fall in love.