Eon

The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth's orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid's surface....and discovered marvels and mysteries to drive researchers mad.For the Stone was from space--but perhaps not our space; it came from the future--but perhaps not our futur...

The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth's orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid's surface....and discovered marvels and mysteries to drive researchers mad.For the Stone was from space--but perhaps not our space; it came from the future--but perhaps not our future; and within the hollowed asteroid was Thistledown. The remains of a vanished civilization. A human-English, Russian, and Chinese-speaking--civilization. Seven vast chambers containing forests, lakes, rivers, hanging cities....And museums describing the Death; the catastrophic war that was about to occur; the horror and the long winter that would follow. But while scientists and politicians bickered about how to use the information to stop the Death, the Stone yielded a secret that made even Earth's survival pale into insignificance.

格雷格·贝尔（1951-）

美国著名科幻作家，当代硬科幻创作的代表人物，两次获得“雨果奖”，五次获得“星云奖”。其代表作《血音乐》、《达尔文电波》、《达尔文的孩子们》以人类进化为主题，尤其是“加速”进化，在全世界科幻爱好者中激起了巨大反响。

太空则是贝尔科幻创作的另一个核心主题，这一类别的作品以《道路》三部曲为代表。《永世》就是这一宏伟巨著的核心篇章。

不同于常见的、以宇宙太空为背景的科幻小说，《永世》别辟蹊径，将太空航行、多重宇宙和当代人类集团的对抗结合起来。一经推出，立即成为充分反映当代硬科幻创作水平的标杆之作。