Robert L. Forward's debut novel of hard science fiction. Dragon's Egg is the name of a neutron star that can be seen near the tail of the constellation Draco and whose surface gravity is 67 billion times greater than that of Earth. It is inhabited by the Chilas, intelligent creatures the size of sesame seeds who live, think and develop a million times faster than humans. The author describes the development of the Chila civilization, from the discovery of agriculture to the invention of advanced technology and the first contact of these creatures with humans, who observe the ultra-fast evolution of the Chila civilization from orbit around the Dragon's Egg.