Epic Hardcover Edition - Exclusive Variant Cover Art - 20 Premium Full Color Interior Illustrations In the year 2145 AD, Malcolm Orion, destined to go down in history as the Brave Traveler, made his historic jump through space, launching his consciousness across the universe. His arrival at an abandoned space station reawakened the Masson Zero-a vast system of instantaneous travelways connecting innumerable worlds, many inhabited by sentient life. Now, centuries later, worlds long isolated from each other are once again connected. This anthology presents tales of this reconvergence. Set on richly imagined planets scattered across the cosmos but linked once again by near-instantaneous travel, these stories introduce you to characters-human and otherwise-navigating love and loss, alliance and intrigue, violence and betrayal, and, most of all, the joys and perils of exploration and scientific discovery. Accept the invitation. Step into a transpod of your own and slip through the Mass-O. You never know where you'll end up. "Foreword" by Tony Harman "A Note from the Editors" by Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp "In Translation" by Carina Bissett "Mars You Say?" by Jane Yolen "The Brave Traveler" by Andy Baker, Brent Friedman, Mario Acevedo, Angie Hodapp, and Joshua Viola "Blood and Beginnings" by Jeanne C. Stein, Mario Acevedo, Angie Hodapp, and Joshua Viola "Reunion on Devolver" by Wyeth Ridgway "Towards Zero Hour" by Maxwell I. Gold "The Ambassador" by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola "Sacrifice" by Andy Baker "Those That Wear Skin" by Jamal Hodge "The Monk" by Warren Hammond "Vanetta 4" by Mario Acevedo "Ruins of Memory" by Kevin J. Anderson "Dark Truths" by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore "Relentless Realities, Impossible Intention" by Linda D. Addison "Icefall" by Angie Hodapp "Between Here and Forever" by Gabino Iglesias "The Good Smuggler" by Stephen Graham Jones "Chantress" by Akua Lezli Hope "Sword of the Silent" by Matthew Kressel "Unspoken Truths" by Kenneth W. Cain "For Every Season" by Lee Murray "Oh, Those Inner Rings" by Jane Yolen "A Deeper Song" by Tim Waggoner "Ghost in the Machine" by Carter Wilson "Suigeneriscide" by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro "The Glymr" by Jezzy Wolfe