The Stream on Japetus

Halfway to the Alpha Centauri system, a lightlike—either a star the size of a lилипut, or a giant planet—was discovered. And the first stellar expeditions of Earthlings were sent to it. The first ship that departed disappeared forever; the second—the “Blue Bird”—was also thought to be lost, but now it returns and must land on Iapetus, a moon of Saturn. A ship with two correspondents flies there, preparing for a ceremonial welcome. But the moon’s spaceport is occupied by another vessel…