Scientists have speculated that evolution was kick-started when a simple cell was invaded by a virus which took over control by becoming its nucleus, and others say that viruses may have arrived here carried on meteorites. What is certain is that viruses should not be classified as just vicious disease carriers, but rather a powerful tool in the armoury of evolution.Mankind has pushed forward into the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy, still carrying fundamental splits over technology, religion and genetic manipulation of the human body. On an ice bound planet in a neutral area marking the boundary between two cultures, following a distress call, a human being is found in a coma, left there by someone unknown. Many sides are interested in the newcomer, and as the young man regains his consciousness, ripples of potential impacts spread outwards across the known galaxy. Governments, individuals, factions and shady outsiders all enter into a game of cat and mouse where no-one knows who is the cat, and who the mouse, while the products of man’s drive for advancement in the fields of artificial lifeforms and bio-genetic engineering throw further twists into the tale.
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