A desperate mission. A devastating outcome.
How was the mystery of the parallax field to be solved? Had the numerous probes that entered its embrace vanished entirely from the spacetime continuum, or had they simply re-emerged beyond known space? Lacking answers and almost out of funding, the scientists and engineers who had brought the field into existence were to be given one last opportunity to explain the enigma they themselves had created. That opportunity necessarily involved a manned mission. The chances of survival were unquantifiable, but estimates ranged from zero to extremely low. Consequently, the Space Agency refused to permit any of its personnel to volunteer. With the window of opportunity closing fast, only a small pool of experienced former astronauts were left to draw from, and of those, how many would be courageous enough, or desperate enough, to step forward?
Meanwhile the threats to humanity remained. Some were longstanding and much debated, others were new and known only to a few of Earth’s political elite. Could an esoteric experiment conducted in the depths of space be the catalyst for a revival in the fortunes of mankind?