Earth now orbits Jupiter! How could the planets have been moved? Corbell and Peersa determine a way to convert an algae canister into a one-way landing craft which would allow Corbell to explore the Earth's surface. Planets that resemble Saturn, Earth, and Uranus are far from their normal orbits.

Upon arrival, what they discover is a solar system completely out of order.

There is no way he will ever see Earth again.or is there? Calculating the result of skirting the accretion disc of a nearby black hole, Peersa indicates that they could return to Earth's solar system, but it would be three million years in the future! Pierce, revealing his true name as Peersa, attempts to bully Corbell into continuning the State's mission, but fails when it becomes apparent that he must obey Corbell's orders.Ĭorbell extends his life through long periods in cryonic sleep, but is an elderly man by the time they reach the galactic core. No sooner does he reveal his plans than Pierce uploads his consciousness into the ship's computer just before the vessel is out of range. However, shortly after leaving the solar system, Corbell changes course and decides to flee to the galactic core, hoping to return to Earth 70,000 years later after the State would likely be long dissolved. His mission: to fly a preset course through interstellar space and deploy canisters containing genetically modified algae onto planets that have been targeted as life-sustaining, thereby planting the seeds for future human expansion.Ĭorbell need know nothing else about the world. Finally, Pierce relents and informs Corbell that Earth is ruled by a merciless governing body known only as the 'State' and that they have ordered Pierce to oversee Corbell's training as a starship pilot. Corbell must badger Pierce for any information about modern society. To his dismay, the reason for his cure becomes quickly apparent-his mind had been transferred to an entirely different body, that of a young felon whose memory had been wiped as punishment for his crime.Ĭorbell quickly finds himself a stranger in a strange land where the only human who speaks English is his caretaker, a harshly detached man known only as Pierce. Jerome Branch Corbell awakens from cryonic freeze to find himself cured of the cancer that had begun to ravage his body two centuries ago.

A World Out of Time by Larry Niven