The Nebula Award–winning author of the Alex Benedict novels and the Priscilla Hutchins novels returns to the world of Ancient Shores in a startling and majestic epic.   A star gate more than ten thousand years old has been discovered on a Sioux reservation in North Dakota. Travel through the gate currently leads to three equally mysterious destinations: (1) an apparently empty garden world, dubbed Eden; (2) a maze of underground passageways; or (3) a space station with a view of a galaxy that appears to be the Milky Way.   The race to explore and claim the star gate quickly escalates, with those involved dividing into opposing camps who view the teleportation technology either as an unprecedented opportunity for scientific research or a disastrous threat to security. In the middle of the maelstrom stands Sioux Chairman James Walker. One thing is for certain: Questions about what the star gate means for humanity’s role in the galaxy cannot be ignored.   Especially since travel through the star gate isn’t necessarily only one way... Praise for Nebula Award–Winner Jack McDevitt   “The logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.”—Stephen King   “‘Why read Jack McDevitt?’ The question should be: ‘Who among us is such a slow pony that s/he isn’t reading McDevitt?’”—Harlan Ellison   “Jack McDevitt is a master of describing otherworldly grandeur.”— The Denver Post   “An intelligent, provocative entertainment by a man who brings energy, style, and a fresh perspective to everything he writes.”— The Washington Post Book World “ Thunderbird by Jack McDevitt is a delightful book indicative of the author’s unique ability to put realistic characters in fantastic settings.” —Amazing Stories Jack McDevitt is a former naval officer, taxi driver, English teacher, customs officer, and motivational trainer. He is the author of the Alex Benedict novels and the Priscilla Hutchins novels. His novel Seeker won a Nebula Award, and he is a multiple Nebula Award finalist. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ALSO BY JACK MCDEVITT TITLE PAGE COPYRIGHT DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EPIGRAPHS PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE CHAPTER FORTY CHAPTER FORTY-ONE CHAPTER FORTY-TWO CHAPTER FORTY-THREE CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE CHAPTER FORTY-SIX EPILOGUE PROLOGUE JERI TULLY WAS eight years old. Mentally, she was about three, and the experts cautioned her parents against hoping for any serious improvement. No one knew what had gone wrong with Jeri. There was no history of mental defects on either side of her family and no apparent cause. She had two younger brothers, both of whom were quite normal. Her father was a border patrolman, her mother a former legal secretary who had given up all hope of a career when she followed her husband to Fort Moxie. Jeri went to school in Walhalla, which conducted the only local special-education class. She enjoyed the school, where she made numerous friends and where everyone seemed to make a fuss over her. Mornings in the Tully household were underscored by Jeri’s enthusiasm to get moving. Walhalla was thirty-five miles away. The family had an arrangement with the school district, which was spread out over too vast an area to operate buses for the special-education kids: The Tullys provided their own transportation, and the district absorbed the expenses. Jeri’s mother had actually grown to enjoy the daily round-trip. The child loved to ride, and she was never happier than when in the car. The other half of the drive, when Mom was alone, served as a quiet time, when she could just watch the long fields roll by, or plug an audio book into the system. Jeri’s father worked the midnight shift that night, and his wife was waiting for him when he got home in the morning with French toast, bacon, and coffee. While they were at breakfast, an odd thing happened. For the only time in her life, Jeri wandered away from home. It seemed, later, that she had decided to go to school and, having no concept of distance, had begun walking. Unseen by anyone except a two-year-old brother, she put on her overshoes and her coat, let herself out through the porch door, walked up to Route 11, and turned right. Her house was on the extreme western edge of town, so she got past the demolished Dairy Queen and across the interstate overpass within minutes. The temperature, which is ex