These passages probably reveal more about Hamilton’s assessment of existing 21st-century human civilization than they do about what a 24th-century posthuman civilization would look like (if we can get there), but that’s not a criticism; the future’s inherent unpredictability usually ensures that science fiction is more about critiquing the present than describing what’s to come with much reliability. Hamilton’s preoccupation with this debate is engaging and useful despite its heavy-handed presentation. Hamilton weaves several other stories into the main narrative of the Prime encounter. Among these is that of the ancient spacecraft Marie Celeste, found crashed on one of the Commonwealth planets, Far Away. An enigmatic figure, Bradley Johansson, claims the original passenger of the spacecraft is alive, an alien he calls the Starflyer. He claims that it is using mind-controlled agents to manipulate events in the Commonwealth, and that it caused the events that led to the discovery of the Primes. The Commonwealth forces dismiss Johansson as a crazy terrorist, and his attempts to interfere with the voyage to Dyson Alpha are thwarted. As the war rages, the human forces begin to build much faster, better armed ships and fitting them with new "quantumbuster" weapons that can destroy an entire planet. Later on, a more advanced quantumbuster is deployed, which is capable of inducing a main-sequence star to go nova. Despite the original plan to use it on the Dyson Alpha star and thus kill the entire prime race, a modified field version of a normal quantumbuster is eventually deployed on the Dyson Alpha forcefield generator, destroying the mechanism that was interfering with the generator's systems. This allows the mechanism to reactivate, trapping the Prime aliens inside and avoiding genocide. LionWalker Eyre [PS] An eccentric living on Tanyata with a private observatory that is used by Dudley Bose to confirm the Dyson Pair envelopment. Ends up living next door to Mark Vernon.

I’ve seen what societies like ours progress into. I’ve walked on their worlds and admired them firsthand. This Commonwealth is only an interim stage for a species like ours; even your Socialism will be left behind in true evolution. We can become something wonderful, something special. We have that potential. (259) Also known as Trance Tool or Light entrainment system, the PandoraStar is a state-of-the-art stroboscope or strobe light. It resembles a plate with 12 white LED lights arranged in the shape of a hexagram. This futuristic-looking device can easily be attached to a tripod. Orion [CS] Parentless teenage boy from Silvergalde and Ozzie’s companion during his search to find the adult Silfen Unlike simple strobes, the PandoraStar is equipped with a variety of light sequences that facilitate and maintain coherent brain wave states. These in turn quite effectively harmonize the emotional state. The PandoraStar-Session “Happy Protocol” is a perfect example for this: It is frequently used to alleviate depression and causes euphoria and happiness.The other two elements of Pandora’s Star that stand out are Hamilton’s descriptions of exploratory space travel and his weird-yet-accessible depiction of a hostile alien power. I’ll say no more about the latter since that would get us into spoiler territory, but I will share my favorite passage highlighting the ingenuity of human engineering and the bravery of astronauts in the face of the unknown: Morton[CS] Tara Jennifer Shaheef’s husband and murderer. Later a Navy Trooper and member of the Cat’s Claws Crispin Goldreich [CS] Senator, Chair of the Budget Commission and member of the Exo-Protectorate Council

Oscar Monroe[CS] Operations Director of the CST exploratory division on Merredin , a member of the Second Chance mission and later a Navy Captain of the starship Defender and after that the Dublin McClain Gilbert (Mac) [CS] Forward crew chief at the CST exploratory division on Merredin , member of the Second Chance mission and later a Navy captain of the starship Moscow PandoraStar phototherapy stimulates the pineal gland. Apart from the eyes, the pineal is the only organ in the body activated by light. This extraordinary gland is considered to be the dwelling place of the soul. It regulates the body’s production of melatonin, serotonin as well as its release of DMT. Third Eye Activation After capturing two crew members of the Second Chance (one of them Bose), MorningLightMountain discovers the location of the Commonwealth. Upon learning of the Commonwealth's existence, MorningLightMountain makes it its primary objective to destroy it. Having been in almost continual combat for its entire evolution, MorningLightMountain believes that it is necessary to eliminate all other life in the Universe to secure its survival into the distant future; it views all life that is not under its control as a potential threat.Eventually, the human forces decide that there can be no other solution to the conflict than to commit genocide and destroy the Primes entirely. However, it is revealed that the Primes are planning a much larger invasion, which humanity will be all but powerless to stop. Catherine Stewart (The Cat) [JU] Convict Navy Trooper, wetwired armament and member of the Cat’s Claws When the Second Chance arrives and begins to explore what appears to be an enclosure generator, an unknown mechanism shuts it down and the barrier around the star disappears. Formerly imprisoned inside is an extremely warlike and aggressive species, a race that comes to be called "the Primes". They consist of intelligent "immotiles" that breed and control vast armies of sub-sentient "motiles" via electronically extended neural interfaces. The few immotiles constantly vie with each other for territories and resources, and by the time of the story, the strongest uses the technology gleaned by analysis of the human's wormhole-generation techniques to destroy all the other Prime immotiles and thus become the only one remaining Prime: MorningLightMountain. On a distant planet, astronomer Dudley Bose performs the first detailed observations of a mysterious astronomical event known as the Dyson Pair Enclosure. Two stars, located roughly 1,000 light years from Earth (750 light years from the edge of Commonwealth space), disappeared some time in the past. The theory is that they have been enclosed inside Dyson spheres.

For all the changes and undeniable improvements automation and consumerism had brought to the proletariat’s standard of living, it hadn’t changed the financial power structure that ruled the human race. A tiny minority controlled the wealth of hundreds of worlds, bypassing, buying, or corrupting governments to maintain their dominance. (795-6)Tarlo [CS] Investigator at the Intersolar Serious Crimes Directorate and later a Lieutenant in Navy Intelligence As the Starflyer attempts to return to Beta, human forces engage in a desperate chase to prevent it from escaping. Their forces fail, but Johansson's Guardians of Selfhood have been preparing for this event, marshalling the weather of the entire planet and unleashing a massive directed hurricane that destroys the Starflyer's ship. Johansson is aboard the Marie Celeste, and the action ends with him preparing to kill the Starflyer.