Humanity, at the turn of the 24th century, had conquered the solar system. Mars was a thriving colony, Jupiter's moons were forward bases, and the asteroid belt was a perpetual construction site. But beyond the heliopause, the unknown remained an impassable wall, an ocean of emptiness and time so vast it defied imagination. Interstellar travel was still a dream, limited by technologies incapable of breaking the lightspeed barrier.