Description

A spaceship from planet Arkona arrives at JFK Airport. Its pilot offers himself as Earth's link to distant worlds. NASA hopes to adapt his technology for human space travel. Specialists gather to hear him expound on major topics in a forum broadcast worldwide. Atheists expect him to demolish religion. Listeners hang on his every word.

What might mankind glean from this alien? Justine wants to analyze his psyche. William seeks philosophical common ground. Kent asks, If I find reasons to take this alien to task, will interstellar crises ensue?

The stranger begins by asking surprising questions that evoke even more surprising answers:

Did a Big Bang really have to devour two billion universes of mass to spit out this one?

When a star explodes as a supernova, why do its lightest elements—hydrogen and helium—exclusively obey gravity by falling back to reform the star?

Why do an exploding star's heavy elements ignore gravity by blossoming as a nebula?

What determines whether evil will ultimately spread cosmos-wide or be contained?

How many laws govern the cosmos? Can we comprehend them? If the answer is "Yes," the final question is—do we want to?

Atop surprising revelations about the cosmos, the stranger reveals why mankind is of special interest to the cosmos at large. His demeanor fascinates Justine. His logic spellbinds William, James, Homer, Charles and others. Come! Be part of this august alien's crucial audience! What might you glean from his destiny-altering interaction with mankind?