Navarchus is set in a future shaped by the interplay of light and time, where humanity navigates Lorentzian waveguides—pathways etched by ancient starlight that allow direct passage into the past. But the breakthrough comes at a price: the journey is one-way.
Unmanned probes have tested these fragile corridors. The first crewed vessel, Forá, vanished. Now Kairos will go farther, guided not only by machines but by a navigator trained to sense what no system can: the moment the universe allows passage. Navarchus Li Meng is at its helm, whose discipline and instinct define a new kind of exploration.
Years later, Earth launches Chronos—the first return-capable beacon ship—to retrieve Kairos and uncover the deeper forces at work near HD 40307. At the farthest edge of knowledge, the crew confronts questions that reach beyond science: of time, identity, and the fragile threads that bind consciousness across the stars.
Navarchus is a story of exploration, sacrifice, and the uncertain cost of discovery—a novel where first contact is not conquest, but a quiet reckoning.