by Robert DeMarco (Author)
A universe with no light, or no heat left in it. No stars, no galaxies. Just cold, dark nothingness...Except for one place. Vix Witink is the Masterman of the shipworld Manvantara; a collection of a hundred and some-odd habitats that spiral around Jotun, the artificial sun powered by a small black hole. Vix must keep this black hole fed, so to remain at a constant mass; which in turn keeps the myriad life-support systems going in the delicate balance that allows life to even exist in this depleted void. But Vix is running out of things to feed Jotun. Things begin to look bleak. But then, something unexpected happens. Something is found inexplicably wandering out in the cold, dead void beyond Manvantara's life-lending Xaxi fields. And suddenly, Vix finds himself in a race against time to not just keep the place running, but to save the shipworld from nearly-insurmountable new threats-both internal and external...