Summary

Part I, Chapter 1 – Jinn and Phyllis, a young married couple, cruise through space for leisure on a spaceship fueled by light radiation. The system through which they sail contains three suns. Jinn is an excellent space sailor, and teaches Phyllis how to sail. They see a streak of light across the sky, which turns out to be a bottle of light-colored glass. Inside are a large number of thin, rolled-up pages. Phyllis begs Jinn to read them aloud.

Part I, Chapter 2 – Ulysse Merou explains he is writing the manuscript now being read in order to prevent a scourge from falling on the human race. He is writing from a self-sufficient farming ship that can sail through space for several years at a time.

In the year 2500, Ulysse and two companions fly toward Betelgeuse –Alpha Orionis – three hundred light-years away from...