A huge alien structure on the Crucible, similar to the Mandala, when explored, causes the destruction and partial disappearance of the asteroid ship in orbit above it. Seventy years later, the colonists receive a calling signal from the supposed location where the structure was aimed at at the time of the disaster. The expedition sent, despite the casualties, discovers there a gigantic written legacy of the ancient creators of Mandalas, who used them for high-speed interstellar travel. At the same time, a still fragile mutual understanding is being established between various types of machine intelligence, people and the intelligent tantor elephants they bred, which makes it possible to bring closer the development of previously incomprehensible technologies. And several generations of the Ekinya family are involved in this, including a living emulation of their illustrious ancestress!