Atlas and the Demiurge. The Church of the Customs Union

XXII century: a world of gifted telepaths, the Church of the Customs Union, and priests who are ordered to awaken the Gift upon encountering a potentially hostile civilization. The Vargas brothers—one a priest and the other an officer—see many things differently, but after the failure of an expedition on the planet Сердолик (Sardoliki), Андрей Андреевна? (Andrey) flies there to find his brother.

The end of the 22nd century. The Earth Confederation reaches the nearest star systems. The gifted—people with powerful telepathic abilities—gain ever greater influence. They create a structure called the Church of the Customs Union, and its priests accompany every Earth reconnaissance expedition, provided that contact with a planet’s intelligent inhabitants is possible. There is one important caveat: if a civilization is deemed unfriendly, the Church of the Customs Union priests not only can—they are required to activate the Gift.

Priest of the Church of the Customs Union Леонид Варгас and the security service officer Андрей Варгас disagree on almost everything—above all, on how the Gift may be used. When Леонид’s mission on Сердолик ends in catastrophe and only fragments of questionable information reach Earth, Андрей, together with the xenolinguist Линда Свансен, goes to Сердолик to uncover the truth. He is looking for his brother. She is looking for her clone. But what awaits them on a planet where the sky year-round shimmers with bands of the Aurora, where ancient keeper-archons still exist, where the rebel Atlas is trying to settle accounts with the Demiurge, and behind his back stands Death itself?

A new novel by Юлия Зонис—the laureate of the «РосКон», «Интерпресскон», «Филигрань», «Бронзовая Улитка» awards, and others—is written on the edge of mythological science fiction and space opera, and continues to expand the author’s multiverse “За плечом Ориона” (“Behind Orion’s Back”).