In the midst of the twenty-fifth century, the human race dominates the cosmos. The resources of thousands of planets and the absence of competitors provide prosperity and stability. But people feel like kings of the Galaxy only as long as nature allows them to. On the planet Quiet, in the backstreets of the all-powerful Terrosoyuz, live animals whose potential at the beginning of the evolutionary path is higher than the sum of all mankind’s achievements. And encounters with them can’t be avoided.
Who will win—humans with their technology, or animals ready to become gods? Whose side will superiority be on?