Night Train to Rigel
Encyclopedia
Night Train to Rigel is a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 book published in 2005, by Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

 winning author Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...

. The book is set in the near-distant future, in an era when humans have taken up residence on planets other than Earth, such as Mars. It is the first of four books in the series.

Plot

The story starts with former government agent, Frank Compton, meeting a young man who, after asking his name, drops dead at his feet. After searching the body, Compton finds a ticket to a strange, interstellar train called the Quadrail
Quadrail
The Quadrail is a fictional intra-galactic rail system conceived by science fiction author Timothy Zahn. It first appeared in the novel Night Train to Rigel in 2005.-Operation:...

. During Compton's ride on the Quadrail he falls asleep, and wakes up in the custody of the spiders, the operators of the Quadrail. The Spiders explain to Compton their worries of a weapon of mass destruction, which may be able to bypass their Quadrail security. Compton agrees to help, and is given a pass for the Quadrails and, amongst other things, they assign him a traveling companion named Bayta, who has a stange talent for being telepathic in her communication to the Spiders.

Frank Compton discovers the power behind the Quadrail system: an ancient civilization called the Chawyn. On the course of his travels on the Quadrail, he learns of the existence of the Modhri: the equally ancient enemy of the Chahwyn. The Modhri has its mind bent on controlling the galaxy.
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