Dramatis Personae

It is the year 2108. Earth has become too polluted, flooding has become too dire, and mankind too numerous, for humanity to remain on their home world. Space colonization has begun, with the first space elevators, a burgeoning Mars colony, and expansive dome-cities on the moon. In order to bear with the drab setting and alien nature of their new environment, virtual and augmented reality has come to the forefront. Where once, generations huddled in front of a glowing box to play video games for hours, now Earth's first generation of orphans explore rich environments of virtual and augmented reality, using neural implants. AIs have spread throughout the system, beginning the efforts of terraforming the various worlds within their local neighborhood, and sending mankind's eyes further and further out beyond the Kuiper belt.

Then, the light from a nearby supernova engulfs the Solar System. Nearby Spica, a binary system 240 light years from Earth, has exploded, producing more light than an entire galaxy full of suns. Mankind and AI's telescopes turn outwards during the event, seeking new plutoids and dwarf worlds to colonize, and discover something ominous. A rogue planet three times the size of Earth, approaching at high speeds through the Oort cloud, scattering comets in its wake. At first, mankind plans to arrange a rendezvous with the strange rogue, but signs that the world was once inhabited combine with strange radio signals coming from the world itself to indicate that the rogue is something more than just a dead rock hurled out from its sun, possibly something far more valuable--or more deadly--than a new planet.

Cover by @-flights-