In the fourth millennium humans finally invent the warp-drive and set out to explore the Galaxy. The first mission is sent to our nearest star, Alpha Centauri, and the starship returns to a stormy acclaim. It then comes as a shock when aliens visit earth and announce that the Galactic Federation intends to lift its quarantine around the Solar System. Since humans now have the warp drive, would they like to join the Galactic Federation? This story brings humanity for the first time into contact with a variety of alien life-forms: elfin-like creatures, dinosauroids, insectoids, and many more when Embassies are sent to other worlds. As the humans fan out from their home world they encounter a number of adventures which shape humanities future for generations to come, like floating cities in the sky. The story comes full circle when it culminates in another first contact, but this time from another galaxy making first contact with the Galactic Federation.