After the people fled Earth to distant planets, the world changed forever. Centuries passed, but the secrets of the Great Catastrophe remain unresolved—except for a few insiders privy to the most hideous secret of the civilization, no one knows the true causes of Earth’s destruction and the consequences that the Exodus of humanity from its home planet caused.
Three mighty forces enter the great game: humans, the community of artificial minds, and the Strangers—mysterious alien beings who once subdued Hermes. The stakes are enormous. Who will win is unknown. The main prize is the Universe in all its boundless variety. Nothing more and nothing less.