Just after midnight I finished Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton. It was an excellent read, highly recommended; I look forward to the next book in the Salvation Sequence.
The story reminded me a bit the first book in the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons, which consists of the following four books:
If you enjoyed Salvation you most likely will love the Hyperion Cantos.
A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it.
―Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice
After midnight I started in A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine.
"calico" refers to the tricolor cat's fur. It's not a breed. Calico cats are almost always white with black and orange splotches, although they can sometimes sport other colors like brown or gray.
In the evening I read A Calico Cat Wears a Coat of Many Colors on the HowStuffWorks website, an article by Patty Rasmussen.
See also Cat Colors.