Orb-A mysterious planet whose surface was almost entirely water. What wonders could an ocean twice the depth of any on Earth contain? The crew of the starship Desio was determined to find out. At first, a blip appears on the far horizon. Or was this merely a product of an over-active imagination? Then they came, impossibly round objects gliding effortlessly on the water like skaters on an ice-covered pond. Were they living organisms, and if so, how did they communicate? While the objects become more numerous and move ever closer, the scientists vainly conduct their experiments. But despite all the science and tech, they were at an impasse. Explanations are hard to come by in a world where the laws of science don't apply. Where every preconceived notion of what constitutes life must be re-examined and challenged.As frustrations mount, two crewmates struggle with a complicated emotional relationship. Another crewmember, the ship's brilliant physicist, becomes mentally unstable, jeopardizing the mission. The constant turmoil and his internal conflict prompts the non-scientist onboard to put forth a question that suggests its own answer: How can we hope to understand what may be an alien lifeform when we don't fully understand ourselves?