Trevor Gray, at the behest of the super-AI, is sent to a remote star where he must make contact with a mysterious alien civilization using a new artificial intelligence.

"When five sentient digital beings--condemned for over three hundred years to crew the small survey ship by the all-powerful Company--encounter a mysterious black sphere, their course of action is clear: obtain the object, inform the Company, earn lots ofpraise. But the ship malfunctions, and the crew has no choice but to approach the sphere and survey it themselves. They have no idea that this object--and the transcendent truth hidden within--will...

"With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit...