Book description
In Yalda's universe, light has mass, no universal speed, and its
creation generates energy; on Yalda's world, plants make food by
emitting light into the dark night sky. And time is different: an
astronaut might measure decades passing while visiting another star,
only to return and find that just weeks have elapsed for her friends.
On the farm where she lives, Yalda sees strange meteors that are
entering the planetary system at an immense, unprecedented speed - and
it soon becomes apparent that more of this ultra-fast material is
appearing all the time, putting her world in terrible danger. An entire
galaxy is about to collide with their own.
There is one hope: a fleet sent straight towards the approaching
galaxy, as fast as possible. Though it will feel like weeks back home,
on board, millennia will pass before the collision, time enough to raise
new generations, and time enough to find a way to stop the ultra-fast material.
Either way, they have a chance to save everyone back on the home world.
Greg Egan lives in Perth, Western Australia. He has won the JOHN W.
CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL and has been short listed for the HUGO
AWARD three times.
