Lin Shen stood in the observatory, absentmindedly rubbing the silver pendant hanging against his chest. It was the only keepsake his father had left him, said to have been unearthed from some ancient ruin. Strange patterns covered its surface, and in the moonlight it glimmered with a faint blue glow. Was the truth out there in an alien civilization, or did humanity itself need to awaken? Where did the path to civilization lead beneath the vast, distant stars?
