"My name is Mark Jattic. I am a reporter. I went on this pioneering expedition to document humanity's first faster than light travel to another solar system. We jumped 1500 light years to this star system. We expected to find nothing but rocks. We found ...static... Our oxygen will run out soon. The supplies were damaged ...static... We cannot survive here. The world is hostile. It's not like home. We're dying out here. I know you won't see this message until you find us; what's left of us. 1500 light years is too far to send a signal. The onboard computer has gone crazy. We've gone ...static... To those who will find this recording on our beacon ...static... Protect Earth. Protect home. Please, listen to me. The ...static... is death. This is Mark Jattic, reporter with the Maia expedition ship, signing off, for what may be the last time." This novel is inspired by works such as Heart of Darkness, Requiem for a Dream, and Lord of the Flies.