Farther than the Farthest Stars
Very far-off future. Humanoid races that originated under the light of the Sun and other stars spread all over the boundless Universe; the space where they settled is called the Great Galaxies. All these star people are one humankind genetically, and representatives of its various branches can interbreed, have common children and give birth to new races. However, the stage of these worlds’ development and social structure differ in many aspects: there are safe and happy planets like Eden, and people there live like in paradise, and there are poor planets, where violence and cruelty reign. Distances between inhabited worlds are great, there are its own rulers in each of them, they have their traditions and customs, their own civilizations, but there is something uniting them: all-galaxy unions and alliances, and their ships are capable to cover millions of light years in several days. Some of them, Archives and Astronauts League, are the keepers of knowledge; the others, Arbitration Court, Star Patrol and Corps for Protection of the Environment, keep the order in the human race community; the interests of the third, Transport Union and Galactic Trade Corporation, are focused on transportation, industry and trade. There is also a powerful religious organization — the Monasteries; their influence and power encompass thousands of star systems. In the course of one long-distance expedition, the research ship of the Archives discovers a planet with unique people, as if having no kinship with the rest of the humankind. The attempt to contact them ends tragically — nearly the whole crew dies, but the ship with artificial intelligence manages to come back to the Archives’ port with the information about the discovery. The strange race, which can be a nation of monsters from another Universe, is dying; there are no children born in their world, the population is decreasing, cities are becoming empty. Should they be helped or left to the mercy of fate?.. Perhaps, it will be better to eliminate these monsters, send them into nothingness quickly and painlessly. There are different opinions in the Great Galaxies as to what should be done. The Archives and the Monasteries secretly send another, well-armed expedition; its goal is to study the newly discovered world and take the decision. The ship is taking researchers to the far-off planet but they are not united: each of the six crew members has his/her preferences, goals and secrets. The crew of the Ludwig Klein, reconnaissance corvette with artificial intelligence, is: Captain who lost his family in some ancient tragedy, thinking of revenge; Hereditary Hunter, member of the Brotherhood of Hunters, expert in killing monsters and elimination of various abominations; priest-exorcist with a talent for mental suggestion; scientist, biochemist and physiologist — once he overstepped the bounds of decency in his research; his young wife, anthropologist and doctor with inferiority complex — she thinks that she is not a normal human; his assistant, very strong giant, xenobiologist with bottomless memory.
Жас шектеулері: 16+
Құқық иегері: ООО "Мультимедийное издательство Стрельбицкого"
Қағаз беттер: 271
