A Deepness in the Sky

A Deepness in the Sky is a prequel to Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, set roughly thirty thousand years earlier and belonging to the same Zones of Thought series. After millennia of secret searching, humanity at last finds signs of alien civilization in the OnOff star system: a star called OnOff shines briefly only once every thirty-odd years, after which the world falls into a dark winter lasting two and a half centuries, and on the planet Arachna orbiting it lives an intelligent species humans call the Spiders. The interstellar trading civilization of the Qeng Ho and the tyrannical, predatory Emergents arrive in the OnOff system almost simultaneously. The Qeng Ho hope to achieve mutual benefit through trade and cultural exchange, while the Emergents secretly plot to monopolize what they call "the greatest business opportunity in human history." A surprise attack leaves both fleets nearly annihilated; using Focus technology, which employs the mind-rotating virus to remake people into tools capable of only a single task, the Emergents enslave some of the Qeng Ho captives, and the remnants of both sides can only lie low near the planet, waiting for the surface civilization to develop technology sufficient to save them. Meanwhile, on the surface of Arachna, the Spiders are crossing the threshold of the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age at their own pace, and a few individuals, such as the astronomer Underhill, are the first to turn their eyes to the stars. The legendary Qeng Ho figure Pham Nuwen hides in the enemy camp under the identity of "Pham Trinli," quietly gathering strength. The intrigues in space and the growth of the surface civilization intertwine, ultimately driving all three parties toward a decisive battle over freedom and slavery. Blending the grand scope of a space opera with hard science fiction worldbuilding, the novel won the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Novel and is widely regarded as one of Vinge's masterpieces.