Starplex

A set of passages called "shortcuts" appeared in human space, connecting distant star regions like wormholes; through them humanity achieved hyperspace jumps and made contact with two other intelligent species. Yet these passages were clearly not natural formations, and who built them and why became a mystery weighing on every civilization. To find answers and to seek more intelligent life, several species formed an alliance and jointly designed and built a huge mothership called Starplex as a platform for joint exploration and diplomacy. Keith Lansing is Starplex's current commander, and during his tenure a series of unimaginable events occur one after another: many stars from distant universes suddenly pour out of the shortcuts, dark matter begins to gather at the shortcut entrances, and friction and conflict among the species escalate. The novel opens by stating that the mothership has been "grievously damaged" and is in dire straits, then unfolds, through the commander's perspective, cosmological puzzles, misunderstandings and reconciliations among civilizations, and emotional entanglements among individuals. It is one of the representative works in Robert J. Sawyer's space science fiction series and, together with Golden Fleece, belongs to a grand space story arc. Driven by dense dialogue, it weaves dark matter, cosmic balance, the origin of the world, immortality, and humanity's place in the universe into an interstellar adventure.