Quietly sent to investigate a distress call from a terraforming colony, Mark finds mystery after mystery:

- The planet completely terraformed, a good 500+ years ahead of schedule!

- The colony and the gigantic terraforming stacks, GONE, wiped off the surface of the planet.

- Fantasy creatures such as elves, centaurs, and goblins, which shouldn't exist at all, quite alive and well and running about the place.

- There's this thing called """"Magic""""...

Investigating this may very well kill him, but that's okay. He has a few tricks of his own, and more than one life to spend.