We may not be alone in this vast universe
Collegium
A Novel of the Fifth Force
By Thomas Kakovitch
Humans have evolved from animals to theoreticians. No other species has accomplished so much in such a short time. We are innovative. We adapt. We change. One fundamental belief is that there was an original message in the universe – the first set of information released in nature. What hidden information did the first message contain? Could the primordial sets of information have physical characteristics? Could it be a force?

These are the questions Thomas Kakovitch addresses by way of story in Collegium: A Novel of the Fifth Force. Many readers may remember Thomas Kakovitch’s previous novel, The Fifth Force, that explored the physical nature of force prior to the existence of mass, electric charges, weak and strong nuclear charges.
Now, from the same writer comes Collegium, the book that asks by way of story:

Where in our solar system is the best location to curve space to minimize the elapsed time needed to have communication across the vastness of the universe? How do we initiate such inauguration in communication? What happens to those civilizations who have translated the original message? Do they attain the equal rights in the assembly of nature, “Collegium?”

Colorful characters, a secret operation and a plot that spans from Washington DC to China combine to illustrate how progress is not a smooth structure path – it also consists of potholes of failures – and how life undergoes modifications before it emerges as a successful experiment.