Quoted By:
<span class="mu-s">Short Synopsis</span>
After a strange alien worm appears on a standard transport vessel between Jaxt and the newly made colony on Xin-I and devours its captain (Allsals Duj); the Jaxtians are thrust into the wider cosmic community.
The worm easily convinces the current reigning Supreme Ruler, <span class="mu-s">Agori Falathane</span>, into becoming an advisor and diplomat; revealing a crooked network of greedy worms controls much of the galaxy. However, Agori is busy selecting his replacement- two genetic clones of past Supreme Ruler candidates; <span class="mu-s">Kimnan Oles II</span> and <span class="mu-s">Eoba Garastra II</span>. Agori prefers Eoba II, and gives him an ultimatum between himself and his "brother". Child Eoba II slays Agori- and in the resulting power vacuum, <span class="mu-s">Ingar Durix</span> attempts a coup by upending the computer network; and he is killed.
With massive devestation, Eoba Garastra II becomes the next Supreme Ruler and rebuilds from the crisis. He also makes a vow and puts colonies on all but one of the stars in his local cluster. The Nan system is taken back from the Baalathi who wanted its gas giants; and in the process Kimnan II discovers the power of <span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-i">Starsight</span></span>, the ability to navigate hyperspace, but only manageable by biologically blind beings. At the same time, one Blue-Haazar named <span class="mu-s">Yaun'Tul Scholiander</span> develops a hatred for his "oppressors", and sets out to become a state philosopher for the Hegemony.
In one system, the Jaxtians rediscover the massive space whales that drift through the galaxy- only to find out the worm alien's origins as intestinal parasites inside these great whales. With a final worm appearing to taunt the Supreme Ruler- Eoba slays it in single combat and rejects all of wormkind, thus likely inviting their anger for the future.
