This is the record of five young people who chose to work for an alien artificial intelligence they call Max; who was left on Earth a long time ago. Its makers gave it two responsibilities. First to encourage the dominant species on the planet to mature and leave Earth to colonise other planets in the galaxy before the sun exploded sometime in the not-so-distant future. Secondly to report back to his makers if certain aggressive aliens called the Nerphans returned. Sam was recruited from England in 1947. Joe from Australia in the late 1800's. Mary from South Africa in the early 1900's. Hannah from Canada in 1990, and Susan from Gambia in 2021. Their bodies have been regenerated to be permanently 25 years old and are very strong. They will live until they themselves decide to die - maybe in 1000 years time. They are given the powers of telepathy, telekinesis, and the ability to move back and forth in an adjacent timeline.

With the onset of global warming, they must accelerate the construction of Space Arks to ferry colonists away from Earth. At the same time, Nerphans are detected approaching the Solar System. Douglas Young 9th February 2024.