At the brink of an impending dark age, 15-year-old Allison Taylor escapes Earth on a colony ship to the stars. But a catastrophic quark drive failure forces a desperate, near-light-speed return a millennium into Earth's future. Allison is surprised to find humanity in a "New Renaissance" and to see the Great Geostationary Towers her father engineered still stretching majestically from ground to high orbit, now housing Earth's billions.
When Allison learns the "New Renaissance" is a mere façade, she struggles against crushing odds to reunite with her fellow colonists. Finally gaining the opportunity to flee again, she realizes her special knowledge of the Towers may empower her to break the Tower Administrators' tyranny—but at the cost of her means of escape. Allison is torn. Will fulfilling her father's dream be worth abandoning her chance to finally reach the stars?
At the brink of an impending dark age, 15-year-old Allison Taylor escapes Earth on a colony ship to the stars. But a catastrophic quark drive failure forces a desperate, near-light-speed return a millennium into Earth's future. Allison is surprised to find humanity in a "New Renaissance" and to see the Great Geostationary Towers her father engineered still stretching majestically from ground to high orbit, now housing Earth's billions.
When Allison learns the "New Renaissance" is a mere façade, she struggles against crushing odds to reunite with her fellow colonists. Finally gaining the opportunity to flee again, she realizes her special knowledge of the Towers may empower her to break the Tower Administrators' tyranny—but at the cost of her means of escape. Allison is torn. Will fulfilling her father's dream be worth abandoning her chance to finally reach the stars?