They were built at the dawn of the exile from Earth - the bioplanes - artificial continents floating in a great archipelago, created so humanity might survive out in space. For centuries they drifted away from each other. Isolated and scattered beyond reach, they were left to evolve as a myriad of faraway worlds. On Gemma, oldest of the bioplanes, a pilot, a legislator, and a soldier are touched by a mysterious power that connects all human life and promises to bridge the vast distances. Guided by the secretive cult that discovered it, the three explorers set out on a journey across the known...