Starhopper was humanity's first interstellar probe.
It was designed to search for intelligent life beyond the solar system. Before it could be launched, however, intelligent life found Earth. The discovery of an alien light sail inbound at the edge of the solar system generated considerable excitement in scientific circles. With the interstellar probe nearing completion, it gave scientists the opportunity to launch an expedition to meet the aliens while they were still in space. The second surprise came when Starhopper's crew boarded the alien craft. They found beings who, despite their alien physiques, were surprisingly compatible with humans. That two species so similar could have evolved a mere twelve light years from one another seemed too coincidental to be true.
One human being soon discovered that coincidence had nothing to do with it ...
Duncan MacElroy was an ordinary engineering student before he went out for a six-pack of beer one night and never came back. Instead, he found himself embroiled in a war for the dominance of Paratime, as well as defending our own particular version of Earth from predators on both sides of the battle lines. For he quickly discovered that "parallel universes" aren't, and that a single individual can make all of the difference in the worlds!
The new comet found near Jupiter was an incredible treasure trove of water-ice and rock. Immediately, the water-starved Luna Republic and Sierra Corporation, a leader in asteroid mining, were squabbling over rights to the new resource. But all thoughts of profit and fame were abandoned when a scientific expedition discovered that the comet's trajectory placed it on a collision course with Earth!
As scientists struggled to find a way to alter the comet's course, world leaders tried desperately to restrain mass panic, and two lovers quarreled over the direction the comet was to take, all Earth waited to see if humanity had any future at all ...
