[A Beowulf Shaeffer Story] Spaceship pilot Beowulf Shaeffer and certified genius Carlos Wu join Sigmund Ausfaller of the Extremely Foreign Relations Bureau on an investigative mission aboard Sigmund's Extremely Fast and Heavily Armed spaceship, the Hobo Kelly. Eight ships have mysteriously disappeared from Sol System, each winking out of existence as they entered hyperdrive, and the trio's theories for the inexplicable phenomena run from human pirates to hyperspace monsters. When Carlos solicits an opinion from a gravitational expert working on a project nearby, Bey and Sigmund decipher just enough of their technical conversation to realize the gravity of the situation. Hugo Award Winner, Locus Poll Award Nominee