The novel "Clockwork Rocket" (2011) is the first novel in the "Orthogonal Universe" trilogy by the famous Australian hard science fiction writer Greg Egan. The series also includes the novels “Eternal Flame” (2012) and “Arrows of Time” (2013).

The universe in which Yalda lives is structured differently. Here, the speed of light depends on the wavelength and has no limit, space is described by spherical geometry, and energy is converted not only into heat, but also into light. The native people of Yalda are an advanced civilization of strange four-eyed creatures with incredibly plastic skin and unusual physiology. One clear night, in the sky dotted with multi-colored trajectories of stars, the first harbinger of the impending apocalypse appears - Hörtler, an orthogonal star. With very little time left until the end of the world, time is becoming a critical resource. The best minds on the planet come together to find a solution: a hundred volunteers will go into space in a giant ark rocket, which will accelerate to infinite speed and “spread out” in time. The passengers on the rocket will have an eternity to figure out a way to save their home world from a monstrous catastrophe...

Translation from English: voyual, 2016

(Unofficial electronic edition)