The year is 2380. The intersolar commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "Tunnels" Known as wormholes. At the...The year is 2380. The intersolar commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "Tunnels" Known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the commonwealth, astronomer dudley bose observes the impossible: over one thousand light-years away, a star.