Mezhzvezdnaya civilizaciya ne perezhila nashestviya ingibitorov - bezzhalostnyh i neveroyatno terpelivyh kiberneticheskih sushchestv, postavivshih pered soboy cel' polnost'yu ochistit' zahvachennoe imi kosmicheskoe prostranstvo ot chelovechestva. Nemnogie ucelevshie lyudi chast'yu ukrylis' na oblomkah svoih mirov, chast'yu rasseyalis' po Galaktike. Tridcat' let kroshechnaya obshchina yutilas' v polyh nedrah bezvozdushnoy, ispeshchrennoy kraterami planety, nadeyas' dozhit' do togo dnya, kogda ugroza minuet. I vdrug sledyashchaya apparatura soobshchila, chto k planete priblizhaetsya korabl'. Veroyatnost' togo, chto on privedet vragov k ubezhishchu, ogromna. I Migel' de Ryuyter, lider obshchiny, otpravlyaetsya navstrechu, chtoby unichtozhit' korabl' vmeste so vsemi, kto letit na ego bortu, - i, vozmozhno, pogibnut' samomu. Vpervye na russkom!