Thousandsofyearshence,manyracesinhabitauniversewhere
potentialisdeterminedbyitslocationinspace-
fromsuperintelligententitiesintheTranscend,tothelimited
mindsoftheUnthinkingDepths,whereonlysimplecreatures
andtechnologycanfunction.Nobodyknowswhatstrangeforce
partitionedspaceintothese"zonesofthought",butwhen
thewarringStraumlirealmuseanancientTranscendentartefact
asaweapon,theyunwittinglyunleashanawesomepower
thatdestroysthousandsofworldsandenslavesallnatural
andartificialintelligence.