Incandescence

A million years from now, the galaxy is divided between the vast, cooperative meta-civilisation known as the Amalgam and the silent occupiers of the galactic core known as the Aloof. The Aloof have long rejected all attempts by the Amalgam to enter their territory, but have permitted travellers to take a perilous ride as unencrypted data in their communications network, providing a short-cut across the galaxy’s central bulge.

When Rakesh encounters a traveller, Lahl, who claims s…