Dek Conrad thought Earth’s politics were bad — like a knife fight in a dark alley in an “it’s-only-business” sort of way. Then he made a discovery that made those conflicts look like child’s play.
After years of secret struggles, Conrad had escaped Earth. He and his team made it to Sirius, ready to execute their plan to save humanity from itself.
Then they found the ruins.
An entire civilization, extinguished. Not ancient history — fresh. Just a few hundred years ago. And in cosmic terms, it happened right next door.
Conrad could have ignored it. He could have followed the advice of his team and stayed with the plan. But Conrad thought he knew better. He thought that threats, left unexamined, had a tendency to explode in one’s face.
So he made the call. Against all counsel, he led the expedition to Ross 128 to find out what happened.