The Sails of Tau Ceti

Michael McCollum

Oct 2020 · Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

About this ebook

Starhopper was humanity's first interstellar probe. It was designed to search for intelligent life beyond the solar system. Before it could be launched, however, intelligent life found Earth. The discovery of an alien light sail inbound at the edge of the solar system generated considerable excitement in scientific circles. With the interstellar probe nearing completion, it gave scientists the opportunity to launch an expedition to meet the aliens while they were still in space. The second surprise came when Starhopper's crew boarded the alien craft. They found beings who, despite their alien physiques, were surprisingly compatible with humans. That two species so similar could have evolved a mere twelve light years from one another seemed too coincidental to be true.

One human being soon discovered that coincidence had nothing to do with it...

About the author

Michael McCollum was a successful engineer for 45 years with Honeywell,where he was Chief Engineer in the valve product line. He also worked on the precursor to the Space Shuttle Main Engine, a nuclear valve to replace the one that failed at Three Mile Island, several guided missiles, the Space Station, and virtually every aircraft in production today. In addition to his engineering, Mr. McCollum is a successful professional writer in the field of science fiction. He is the author of a dozen pieces of short fiction and has appeared in magazines such as Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, Amazing, and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. His novel, Thunderstrike!, was optioned by a Hollywood production company for a possible movie. Several of his books have subsequently been translated into Japanese, German, Russian, and English (as opposed to American).