In a world where humanity has colonized the solar system and begun to explore more of the local galaxy, a vast audience follows real-life stories presented by wealthy media mogul Duncan Chalk. Chalk feeds on the pained emotions of others. He plays cruelly with his staff, but gorges on the mass emotions generated by the dramas he orchestrates. Chalk pairs Minner Burris, an emotionally withdrawn space explorer who was captured and freakishly surgically...

A collection of six critically acclaimed novellas by science fiction Grand Master Robert Silverberg-including the Nebula Award–winning "Sailing to Byzantium" and "Born with the Dead" Robert Silverberg's novellas open the door to new worlds: In "Born with the Dead," a woman wills her body to be "rekindled" after death, allowing her to walk among the living, while her husband is left in the impossible position of accepting her death when he can still...

Journeying through space in search of relics from the past, a motley team of explorers happens upon an astonishing discovery Graduate student Tom Rice is thrilled to embark on his first deep-space archeological expedition. He is part of a team from Earth, venturing out in search of artifacts from a civilization that ruled the universe many millennia ago. Called the High Ones, the members of this long-gone society left tantalizing clues about their...