All stories must have beginnings. For John, it was a birthday night out at the theatre. For Timus Irnok Mosta, it was aboard the Eighth Galactic Trig, For TIM, it was a simple transparent cube. For Colonel Mutoni Semper, it was the Paris student riots of 1968. For the twins Adrian and Cynthia, it was an accident in Cumberland. But, of course, all stories, once begun, must also stop. The Schism of Seers had determined that Homo Superior would end, permanently, on Earth – preferably before the new species of mankind had really become established. And there was nothing anybody could do to stop that...