Nine months into live testing of warp theory, the Whale, a unique planetary exploration vessel, unexpectedly vanishes. The Whale's crew of eleven finds itself in unknown space with insufficient understanding to return to the Sol system. They are Homo Caleum, born in space and uneasy on both the Earth and the colonies of the Sol system. They quickly discover they have little interest in returning. A Truther, a professional mediator of truth, also travels...