In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel is discovered resting on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend together into the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanations. It is a spaceship.

Deep in space lies the black hole known as Angelmass, so called because it emits enigmatic particles with the unusual ability to render humans calm, reasonable, and incapable of lying-which would normally be seen as a good thing. But not by everyone. For while Empyrean human colonies on the edge of the galaxy utilize the power of the "angels," the Earth-based Pax empire views the emissions as a threat that could be used to subvert humanity. Academic...