num_pages: 377
description: 2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day and in the Long Earth the new Next post-human society continues to evolve. For Joshua Valient now in his late sixties it is time to take one last solo journey into the High Meggers: an adventure that turns into a disaster. Alone and facing death his only hope of salvation lies with a group of trolls. But as Joshua confronts his mortality the Long Earth receives a signal from the stars. A signal that is picked up by radio astronomers but also in more abstract ways  by the trolls and by the Great Traversers. Its message is simple but ts implications are enormous:JOIN US.The super-smart Next realise that the Message contains instructions on how to develop an immense artificial intelligence but to build it they have to seek help from throughout the industrious worlds of mankind. Bit by bit byte by byte they assemble a computer the size of a continent  a device that will alter the Long Earths place within the cosmos and reveal the ultimate life-affirming goal of those who sent the Message. Its impact will be felt by and resonate with all  mankind and other species young and old communities and individuals  who inhabit the Long Earths
language: English
title: The Long Cosmos
publisher: Harper