The crew of the "Ermak" space shuttle-starship "Magellan" has been on alien Earth for a year already. Living conditions are set up, and connections with local residents are established. The fauna has been studied, and significant progress has been made in studying the mysterious structure "Cradle," where, day after day, new and new human specimens—correls—are being produced. Over the course of this year, Herman and his fellow crew members have realized that humanity’s survival is impossible without symbiosis between the natives and the korels. But how to socialize some, and persuade others? How to explain to a person thrown back thousands of years in terms of culture that the question of humanity’s survival rests on the shoulders of everyone without exception on the planet? And most importantly, how to avoid an unnecessary bloody war that unseen third forces are trying to spark?