A Man from Planet Earth: A Scientific Novel
About this audiobook
Sometime in the not-too-distant future ... unbeknownst to Earth, the Galaxy is home to a number of spacefaring societies. This confederation enforces a strict protocol forbidding any contact with civilizations that have not yet achieved both a substantial spacefaring capability and sufficient maturity to control the technology explosion before triggering their own extinction.
While this policy is intended to only bring in peaceful new members, matters change entirely when the confederation is threatened by some unknown entity—is the menace real or imagined? The confederation decides to break with the rules and sends a delegate to Earth to hire one of the supposedly belligerent Earthlings to investigate and to revive the confederation’s long-unused starfleet. The Earthman agrees, but demands a high price: should he succeed, the confederation will have to accept Earth as a new member. As the threat becomes ever more acute, the question soon becomes which mission will prove harder—saving the confederation or convincing it to accept the deal!
The extensive appendix, written in nontechnical language, reviews the scientific and technological topics underlying the plot—ranging from the Fermi Paradox, space travel, and artificial/collective intelligence to theories on possible universal convergences in technological and biological development.
About the author
Giancarlo Genta is an expert in spaceflight technology who holds degrees in Aeronautic Engineering and Space Engineering (his thesis was on electric propulsion orbital transfers). Until 1996 he was head of the Mechanics Department of the Politecnico (Technical University) of Turin, Italy. He is director of the Italian SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) study center and is a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics.
Steven Crossley is a multi-Earphones Award winner and twice-nominated Audie finalist who has narrated over two-hundred audiobooks. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has established an acting career on both sides of the Atlantic in theatre, television, film, and radio drama. A member of the internationally acclaimed company Complicite, he has performed with distinguished companies in New York and London.
Eddie Lopez has known he was going to be an actor ever since he was five years old. His passion for storytelling and acting led him to the world of audiobook narration. When not on stage or in the booth, he travels the world and explores new places. He currently resides in Ashland, Oregon.
