Originally Published as 'Thunder Rift.' *** "Replete with adventure, mystery, and sociological conflict."-Publishers Weekly *** First contact was never supposed to be like this. * A sudden rift appears in near-earth space, causing electronic components to permanently fail and cause total chaos. As Earth's fragile technological society disintegrates, no one can answer the obvious question-what is the rift, and who or what has created it. * A new generation comes to age attempting to answer these questions, and Taria Spears, an anthropologist, is selected as part of the crew on the exploratory ship Lightbringer. Lightbringer's mission is to investigate the worm-hole like Rift and, if possible, to pass through it to find out what lies on the other side, and to seek some answers. * But what if all they find is an alien culture where sound, not sight is the primary sense?