The inhabitants of the Riemannian universe set off on a journey to the very End of Time. The generation ship "Peerless", constantly accelerating, is theoretically capable of crossing the entire space in search of aliens who possess astro-engineering technology. Having found them, return just in time to save their home planet from imminent destruction. One single fatal miscalculation of the designers - and the laws of Malthusian survival come into force. There is no extra space on the clockwork rocket! The astronauts are split into two factions, each of which, without giving up, persistently seeks a way out of the severe energy crisis. To do this, we must reconsider fundamental ideas about the nature of matter and energy - and put an end to centuries-old gender canons... Greg Egan. The Eternal Flame. 2012Translation from English: