Publisher's Synopsis
As the Earth collapses under the impact of Climate Change in the 22nd Century, a desperation mission plants a seed population of four pairs of genetically-modified humans on a nearby exoplanet which is given the name 'Erde'. (The ship is from the European Union and German is their working language).Over the centuries these First Parents give rise to increasingly sophisticated societies, each different but all matriarchal. Eventually they meet and work out a modus vivendi. Not always peacefully. One outcome is a semi-religious Zen-like philosophy 'The Way of the Hidden One', in which a True Man is one who has total self-control and dedicates himself to service. Two main schools arise, one emphasising a True Man's duty to his woman (sort of like an inverted 'submit to your husband in all things') and the other placing weight on being of value to the wider community.Time passes and their level of science and technology increases. Then they discover a shocking fact. All the ancient legends about their First Parents being the work of the mysterious Creators are found to have a scientific basis! The translation of the various textbooks found abandoned also provides an advance of a century or more in theoretical physics. Just imagine how much more could the Creators teach us now, after another thousand years of progress? It becomes a planet-wide quest to find these Creators. This spurs technologies to develop radio-telescopes and to travel through deep space and even time, but at a cost that demands a whole-of-planet effort. The three autonomous governments on the planet, one on each main continent corresponding to the successful three First Parents, start to co-operate. The beginnings of a Federation are set in train.The promises to the First Parents that their children will travel among the stars is now on the point of fulfilment!
