When our Milky Way merges with the Andromeda Galaxy in 4.75 billion years, Earth will be facing even bigger problems than a cosmic collision. Two parallel worlds confront an uncertain future, while an astrophilosopher and a modern shaman struggle with decisions that will establish the fate of intelligent beings throughout the colliding spiral arms. Worlds separated by thousands of light-years are suddenly thrust together in challenges humans have never imagined.On Proteus in the Heavenly Way Galaxy, Shawn Russell lives outside the small town of Kernville in the central California foothills. It's 2015 and he drives an Edsel converted to natural gas, flies a Cessna with an engine that runs on diesel, and bombs around the backcountry on a quad-like device called an Energoe. You'll often find Russell chowing down on BBQ at Cheyene's restaurant with his friend Farley. Shawn is a modern-day shaman (formally a philososcience consultant) studying and preparing his world for the impending galactic collision far in the future.On Earth, the sun is dying and the planet and solar system are becoming uninhabitable. Kane Suane, an astrophilosopher, is part of an elite group studying ways for the human race to survive. Will an earth-like planet called P4531 in the approaching Andromeda Galaxy be the answer they are so desperately seeking? Or will it be the demise of the parallel civilization emerging on Proteus?