So, Malcolm, Courtny, Rob, and Soren all got me to thinkin’. What happens when a starship can’t land? The answer is, they do a careful insertion of a small team of emissaries to make it so they can land when they loop back around in seven years.
The groundwork they have to lay is social, but it can take many forms. They might have to win a war, start a religion, or change the colony’s socioeconomic system. In seven years. Because when those Academics finally get into orbit after their now nine year journey, there’s no force in the universe that could keep them off the surface.
To help pay for the print run, I’m taking pre-orders! Paypal $10 +$4 s&h in the US or $6 elsewhere to orders@glyphpress.com and put “Human Contact:Alone” in the subject line.