From the acclaimed authors of Heaven's Warcomes a tale that gives "Arthur C. Clarke a run for his money." (Robert J. Sawyer) An immense object is approaching Earth. Two manned vehicles race through space to land first on the frozen, desolate surface: one launched by NASA, the other representing a Russian-Indian-Brazilian Coalition. Both crews have orders to do whatever it takes to claim it as their own. But the entity is not simply a rock hurtling through the blackness. It has been sent to Earth for a reason. A vastly more intelligent race is desperately attempting to communicate with our primitive species. And their interstellar courier carries a message that the very core of humanity has responded to since time began… Help us…