The Ancient Ones

We never expected that inventing Star-Drive would lead to this!

We were first! Humans invented star drive, bringing light and movement to the galaxy, forging a grand alliance with all races. (Well, most of them.) It seemed the galaxy was ours to lead and to share!

Till we met demmies.

Oh, they’re not so bad. They mean well. Impulsive and exasperating, sure. Often brilliant, cheeky, moronic, volatile, always astonishing... did I mention exasperating?
And lucky.

Gradually, it dawned on humanity--

Hey, that’s what WE wanted to be! In ancient sci-fi dreams, we pictured ourselves as the impulsive-lucky ones, not wise-patient elders. Only now...

... they reverently call Earthlings ＂the Ancient Ones.＂ And demmies are having all the fun!

Dr. Alvin Montessori is Human Advisor aboard the mostly demmie-crewed star cruiser Clever Gamble, orbiting Oxytocin 41, where something weird is going on. It starts when the crew unreels a humongous hose down to the surface...

... and their first contact team discovers a whole lot of ’something weird.’,

David Brin is best-known for shining light -- plausibly and entertainingly -- on technology, society, and countless challenges confronting our rambunctious civilization. His best-selling novels include The Postman (filmed in 1997) plus explorations of our near-future in Earth and Existence. Other novels are translated into 25+ languages. His short stories explore vividly speculative ideas. Brin’s nonfiction book The Transparent Society won the American Library Association’s Freedom of Speech Award for exploring 21st Century concerns about security, secrecy, accountability and privacy.