The Encounter

' The Pluto Stations Are The Most Advanced Long-Range Telescopesever Constructed By Humankind. Positioned Just Outside Our Solar System Thesestations Each Staffed By A Team Of Twenty Dedicated Men And Women Representthe Height Of Space Corps Sophistication And Progress Letting Us See Fartherinto Space Than We Ever Thought Possible. Despite Their Distance From The Restof Humanity They Still Transmit Data Regularly On Nearby Stellar Masses Aswell As Give An Advanced Warning Of Incoming Asteroids And Comets That Mightpose A Threat To Life In Our Solar System. But Something Has Gone Wrong Aboard Pluto Station Six. Earth Hasnot Received A Transmission From Them In Weeks And They Do Not Reply To Anyattempts At Communication. Before Tensions Rise Too High In The Media Communityback On Earth The Space Corps Decides To Send One Ship A Highly Experimentalprototype That Can Make The Journey There Much Quicker Than Any Other Ship Outto The Distant Station To Investigate Why They Have Stopped Transmitting. What They Find When They Arrive Not Only Changes Ourunderstanding Of The Universe But It Also Finally Provides An Answer To One Ofthe Longest-Standing Questions In Human History--