Web of Ice, Gossamer Crystals: (Alternatively: O'Gliiders)

A short novella with illustrations in the classic sci-fi mode, a taste of archeology, with modern technologies, and a quick pace that doesn't require a long reading commitment. The next age of exploration has dawned for human kind. Our machines scan the heavens, new planets are discovered, and the first interstellar ships are ready. A green planet shrouded in cloud awaits over one hundred and fifty light years away, and a solar-system sprawled humanity is ready to explore it. Below the clouds an old civilization with very familiar technologies awaits on towering houses above a very alive sea. A alien unique society with its own mysteries and problems, some day-to-day, some much more critical, connected and networked. Explore with the humans, feel with the aliens, and solve the mysteries that await both. Combines archeology adventure, alien undersea worlds, and tropical islands. How will we interact not only with truly alien cultures, but with our own artificial intelligences? How will our mastery of technology enhance how we experience new worlds? This print edition has twenty-two maps, designs, drawings, and diagrams to tickle your internal muse.