No stranger to surprises, Captain Vince Stewart is slated to head up the maiden voyage of earth's first superluminal starship, the Oberlux. While preparing for launch date, the ship receives a surprising demand from an alien civilization thousands of light years distant. Can the demand be ignored or should they comply? Either choice could lead to peril. A planet's civilization lies in the balance, but whose? Find out why creatures on differing worlds worship combat, fear their gods, tremble at their tyrants, long for peace, pray for war, relish conquest, enjoy pain, inflict torture, repulse evil, fight for freedom and search for truth across light years and time.