The Ship of Serenity

Catala, a young Schianta, is being taught by his First Teacher and erotic instructor, Djirad, about the importance of fear. They venture into the shallow depths of their Wet World, where Djirad stages a confrontation with a weakened, detoxified poisonous stingray. Catala overcomes his fear and triumphs, learning a valuable lesson. However, their world is changing due to entropy acceleration caused by human Kaiser Force technology. They witness a second "Bright Light" in the sky, an omen of destruction. The water grows warmer, and they struggle to survive as the ocean begins to evaporate.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Valdec is overseeing the production of new Kaiser Force battleships at the Ziolkowski Shipyards. He narrowly survives an assassination attempt by former managers of ASK using recessive psionics and an electronic assassin. The attack is thwarted by Prometheus, a Super-Driver clone. Valdec learns of an extraterrestrial warning to cease Kaiser Force space travel or face annihilation.

Beyond the Pluto Orbit, Tscherta, an Executor of the Entities, destroys a human distribution station responsible for radiating entropy-accelerating emissions. He then targets a larger COSMODROM base but is overwhelmed by the entropy acceleration and dies, failing to complete his mission.

Back on Earth, Valdec, after experiencing a vision of a dead world and a threat from an Executor named Tserin, decides on a preemptive strike against the Entities. He plans to locate their central worlds and destroy them with Kaiser Force technology. To achieve this, he sends a negotiating delegation, led by Frost, to Sarym to request mistletoe and a lodge from the Terranauts for a faster-than-light flight to Genessos, the home planet of Cantos, a Genessan who left a psionic trail.

On the Wet World, Catala and Djirad continue their struggle for survival. They encounter a dying Schianta who tells them of a migration call to the southeast. They follow the call but find only an abandoned and destroyed Hort. They realize they have no hope of returning home and embrace death by swimming into a stream of fire. The Wet World is destroyed.

The JAMES COOK, a Driver ship, departs for Genessos with Frost, Llewellyn 709, and others. Isis 31 and Thor 51, Super-Drivers conditioned to Frost, are secretly tasked with locating the Entities' central worlds. Scanner Cloud and Morgenstern, now Steerersman Novices, arrive on Sarym to warn of the impending Final Strike. They support the expedition but emphasize the need for an adequate response to the threat. Frost manipulates the situation, ensuring the expedition proceeds according to Valdec's plan.