For my agent, Antony Harwood.

After twenty years, it’s probably

about time I said thank you.

Commonwealth Timeline

1,000,000 BC (approx.)

Raiel armada invades the Void. Never returns.

AD

1200    Prime species’ home star system and renegade Prime colony star (Dyson pair) quarantined behind force fields by the Anomine.

1900    Starflyer crash-lands on Far Away, 400 light years from Earth.

2037    First attempted human rejuvenation, Jeff Baker.

2050    Nigel Sheldon and Ozzie Isaacs open a wormhole to surface of Mars.

2057    Wormhole opened to Proxima Centuri. Start of interstellar colonization.

2100    Eight new worlds settled. Official formation of Intersolar Commonwealth Council, the ‘Parliament of Worlds’.

2100 onward    Massive expansion of human settlements across H-congruous planets. Rise of the Big15 industrial worlds.

2102    Huxley’s Haven founded, genetic conformist constitution.

2150    Prime star disappears from Earth’s sky – unnoticed.

2163    High Angel discovered orbiting Icalanise

2222    Paula Myo born on Huxley’s Haven.

2270    Prime star pair identified as Dyson Emission Spectrum twins.

2380    Dudley Bose observes Dyson Alpha vanish.

2381    Starship Second Chance flies to Dyson Alpha.

2381–2383    Starflyer War.

2384    First colony fleet (Brandt Dynasty) leaves to found human colony outside Commonwealth.

2545 onward    Use of large starships to establish Commonwealth ‘External’ worlds.

2550    Commonwealth Navy Exploration fleet founded to explore the galaxy beyond the External worlds.

2560    Commonwealth Navy ship Endeavour circumnavigates galaxy, captained by Wilson Kime, discovery of the Void.

2603    Navy discovers seventh High Angel-type ship.

2620    Raiel confirm their status as ancient galactic race who lost a war against the Void.

2833    Completion of ANA (Advanced Neural Activity) first stage on Earth. Grand Family members begin memory download into ANA.

2867    Sheldon Dynasty gigalife project partially successful, first human body biononic supplements for regeneration and general iatrics.

2872    Start of Higher human culture, biononic enrichment allowing a society of slow-paced long life, rejection of commercial economics and old political ideologies.

2913    Earth begins absorption of ‘mature’ humans into ANA, the inward migration begins.

2984    Formation of radical Highers who wish to convert the human race to Higher culture.

3000    Sheldon Dynasty colony fleet (thirty starships) leaves Commonwealth, believed to possess long-range trans-galactic flight capability.

3001    Ozzie produces uniform neural entanglement effect, known as the gaiafield.

3040    Commonwealth invited to join Centurion Station, the Void observation project supervised by Raiel, a joint enterprise between alien species.

3120    ANA officially becomes Earth’s government, total planetary population fifty million (activated bodies) and falling.

3126    Brandt Dynasty trans-galactic colony fleet launched.

3150    External world Ellezelin settled.

3255    Kerry, a radical Higher Angel, arrives on Anagaska, Inigo’s conception.

This Era (time uncertain)    Edeard born in the Void.

3320    Inigo begins duty tour at Centurion star system, his first dream.

3324    Inigo settles on Ellezelin, founds Living Dream movement, begins construction of Makkathran2.

List of Characters

Commonwealth

Nigel Sheldon inventor of wormhole technology

Paula Myo Senior investigator, Serious Crime Bureau

Starship Vermillion

Cornelius Brandt captain

Laura Brandt Molecular physicist

Ibu Gravatonics professor

Joey Stein hyperspace theorist

Ayanna quantum field physicist

Rojas shuttle pilot

Bienvenido

Slvasta lieutenant Cham Regiment, revolutionary leader

Ingmar trooper, Cham Regiment, Slvasta’s friend

Quanda forester’s daughter

Bethaneve tax officer, revolutionary leader

Javier meat-stall worker, revolutionary leader

Coulan bureaucrat, revolutionary leader

Arnice Major, Joint Regimental Council

Lanicia society debutant

Gelasis Colonel, Joint Regimental Council

Bryan-Anthony leader, Wellfield union

Philious Captain

Aothori First officer

Trevene chief of Captain’s Police

Gravin professor, Faller Research Institute

Kysandra owner of Blair Farm

Sarara Kysandra’s mother

Ma Ulvon underworld boss

Akstan Ma Ulvon’s son

Julias Ma Ulvon’s son

Russell Ma Ulvon’s son

Madeline madam, Hevlin hotel

Proval a Faller

Demitri ANAdroid

Marek ANAdroid

Valeri ANAdroid

Fergus ANAdroid

Yannrith ex-sergeant Cham regiment

Andricea ex-Cham regiment

Tovakar ex-Cham regiment

BOOK ONE

Twenty-Seven Hours and Forty-Two Minutes

Laura Brandt knew all about coming out of a suspension chamber. It was similar to finishing the old-style rejuvenation procedure she’d undergone back in the day before biononic inserts and Advancer genes being sequenced into human DNA and practically eradicating the ageing process. There would be that slow comfortable rise to consciousness, the body warming at a steady rate, nutrient feeds and narcotic buffering taking the edge off any lingering discomfort and disorientation. So, by the time you were properly awake and ready to open your eyes, it was like emerging from a really decent night’s sleep, ready to face the day with enthusiasm and anticipation. A full breakfast with pancakes, some crisp bacon, maple syrup and chilled orange juice (no ice, thanks) would add that extra little touch of panache to make returning to full awareness a welcome experience. And when it happened this time, there she would be at the end of a voyage to a star cluster outside the Milky Way, ready to begin a fresh life with others from the Brandt dynasty, founding a whole new civilization – one that was going to be so very different from the jaded old Commonwealth they’d left behind.

Then there was the emergency extraction procedure, which ship’s crew called the tank yank.

Someone slapping the red button on the outside of her suspension chamber. Potent revival drugs rammed into a body that was still chilly. Haematology umbilicals withdrawing from her neck and thighs. Shocked muscles spasming. Bladder sending out frantic pressure signals into her brain, and the emergency extraction had already automatically retracted the catheter – oh, great design, guys. But that wasn’t as bad as the skull-splitting headache and the top of her diaphragm contracting as her nauseous stomach heaved.

Laura opened her eyes to a blur of horrible coloured light at the same time as her mouth opened and she vomited. Stomach muscles clenched, bringing her torso up off the padding. Her head hit the chamber’s lid, which hadn’t finished hinging open.