As Barnabas is growing up amid a philosophical settlement in the Oort Cloud, four centuries of peace for humanity burn in religious fanaticism's fires. A militant priesthood claiming that an alien plaque has taught them a message and a mission turns to aggressive war and human sacrifice. When the priesthood perishes in its own war, the alleged plaque vanishes in the immolation of the priesthood's command ship. Still, an alien plaque's mere existence inspires Barnabas to learn a dying discipline, linguistics, in hope that he might someday decipher alien texts.

Even among philosophers, linguistics is singularly useless until a second plaque shows up nearly on their community's doorstep. Soon, there are other plaques, all bearing inscriptions of beautiful, artfully arranged, but incomprehensible glyphs. Barnabas, like everyone else, rejoices at proof of extraterrestrial intelligence until he learns a bitter truth: without a Rosetta Stone, not even the best linguist can interpret an unknown inscription.

Somehow, he must find a Rosetta Stone. Without a true translation of the glyphs, humanity is foundering in false translations of them. The fanaticism that led humanity back into war's darkness is growing again. Amid cult activity and ritual killings, a properous settlement falls silent in the Dark, and the threat of war rises again. Can Barnabas decipher the glyphs' message before their madness returns?

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• Science Fiction & FantasyScience Fiction

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