1.

Some of man's greatest achievements have been motivated by

a driving need for love and acceptance. What happens when that
need for recognition, becomes a desire to be revered, and then
worshipped... like a god?
Increasingly, modern science pursues powers traditionally
reserved for the Almighty. But those who encroach upon the
province of the gods realize too late that the price for entrance...
is destruction.

2. Poets argue that you are truly alive if you possess the ability to
feel and love. Scientists, on the other hand, choose to define life
in terms of proteins and carbon building blocks. But what
happens when these two beliefs come crashing together?
The pursuit of technology exists to make human life easier and
more pleasurable. But once such forces intrude upon the most
intimate parts of our lives, will we then forfeit our very soul?

3. It is said that civilization began when man first became

capable of changing his environment. What will happen when
man has the ability to change himself, when no human need be
cursed by heredity? Will it be the beginning of a glorious new kind
of civilization... or the end of everything we know?
There is an old proverb that says, "Be careful what you wish for,
for it might come true". And if your wish is for immortality, it is
something you will have to live with... for a very long time.

4. Contact happened exactly one year ago, and the world

changed forever. The line between life and death was blurred,
crossed... then totally erased. Not through divine intervention,
but another force from the heavens. A force greeted not with
rapture... but with fear.
What if you were to wake up to a different world tomorrow... a
world of invaders? Would you raise your voice with the aliens, in
a chant of remembrance and regret, bidding farewell to a
vanished world? Or would you fight against those who might
ultimately help us?

5. The one certainty of the human experience is death. But what

might happen when our effort to prolong the inevitable starts to
turn that battle around? Will someone, or something, step in to
ensure the final outcome?
For one man, the battle against death is over. But for the rest of
us, the war rages on. At what point does the cost of survival...
become too high a price for us to pay?

6. It is the differences between people that cause conflicts.

Differences in religion, in race, in beliefs. What wars would be
fought if the differences grew between two intelligent species;
humans... and those who might ultimately replace us.
The wars of evolution are fought over generations. But
sometimes only the fittest survive battles which last the briefest
moments. A hundred years from now, a new race may look back
and say, This little girl's stand was a turning point.

7. Man has always been fascinated with the concept of going back
in time. The question is often asked, If you could go back, would
you do anything differently? But what if it goes the other way?
We never hear the question, Would you do anything differently, if
you could go forward?
Time is a river winding steadily through the landscape of
tomorrow. There are those who would steal a glimpse around the
next bend and those who would fight the current. But the wisest
are those who turn their eyes from the waters and seek out a
fellow traveler to share in the journey.

8. It is a common scientific belief that humans use but a small

fraction of the brain. Researchers all over the world try to unlock
the secrets hidden in these darkened parts of the mind. But do
we really want to unlock some secrets? And how will we deal with
the dark discoveries that lie within?
If you were offered the chance to communicate with another
person's mind, would you choose to do it, knowing that in return
you would have to expose your own deepest and most intimate
thoughts?

9. In a world filled with darkness, Father Anton Jonascu's faith

has long been a beacon of light for those in need. But now the
good father finds himself at a crossroads, in danger of losing his
way.
From the dawn of time people have believed that angels walk
among us. Some believe that demons are also in our midst. But
who's to say exactly what form either will take? They could be

your spouse, your boss at work, even the person sitting with
you... right now.

10. It is said only children are willing to believe in the possible

existence of unknown creatures. When these creatures are
discovered scientists will classify them by genus, class, order and
species. But to children aren't they simply the monsters that they
already know?
Our world has been mapped, the oceans charted, animals and
plants named and indexed... or so we believe. But there are still
places grownups forget they've been and it is children who
remind us that there are creatures that lurk in the dark, and,
under the bed.

11. For the crew of the transport vessel Nestor, their moment has
come. The eternal night of space has vanished and the night to
come will be longer, and darker, than they can possibly imagine.
Within the human soul reside mysteries dark and deep; about our
frailties, our fears, our shame. Today, or a hundred years from
now, the darkest matter will still lie in the human heart.

12. For every human act their is a moment of decision; a single

thought, a breath, a heartbeat... after which all possible
outcomes narrow to one.
A second chance. But redemption follows not a change of body,
but a change of heart.

13. Men of war have long known that warriors must often
abandon those verities they defend. Peace, human kindness,
love... for they hold no meaning to the enemy. And so,to win, do
we become what we despise... and despise what we become?
In the darkest of hours... in the greatest of battles... we must
never forget who, or what, we are.

14. Humankind has long tried to tame the forces of nature, to

harness their power for our needs. But what if the very needs
that drive us are the greatest power of all? Will we be able to
control ourselves?
The urge to hunt and kill -- the need to mate and multiply -these are our most primitive human drives. But they pale in
comparison to the most powerful human drive of all... the need
for love.

16. The Book of Job tells us that, "He who discovereth deep
things out of darkness, bringeth out to light the shadow of death".
Will man's unquenching thirst for discovery, ultimately be his
undoing?
The true measure of a hero is when a man lays down his life with
the knowledge that those he saves... will never know.

17. Man has long worked to stave off the disease that can ravage
us. But what can happen when the cure grows more fearsome
than the disease?
Over millions of years man has become the very paragon of
animals but we must take care not to alter what nature has taken

so long to forge -- or risk being burned by the very fires of

creation.

18. There is the silence of the oceans and the unending silence of
space. There is the welcome silence of serenity and the
everlasting silence of death. A cry for help is lost in the shrill
noise of the world, but the faintest of whispers, when spoken in
silence, can resonate across a universe.
There is no sound, no voice, no cry in all the world that can be
heard... until someone listens.

19. It is said that God made man in his image, but man fell from
grace. Still, man has retained from his humble beginnings the
innate desire to create. But how will man's creations fare? Will
they attain a measure of the divine? Or will they, too, fall from
grace?
Empathy, sacrifice, love. These qualities are not confined to walls
of flesh and blood but are found within the deepest, best parts of
man's soul... no matter where that soul resides.

20. Ghosts. Haunted houses. Many maintain that such concepts

have no place in our computerized twentieth century reality. But
until man conquers death one inevitable question will always
linger within the recesses of the human mind. What lies beyond?
What lies beyond? For each of us, the answer awaits at the end of
life's journey. Until then, we must live with the ghosts that dwell,
not in some musty basement, but within the recesses of the
human soul.

21. The Roman philosopher Boethius said, "In other living

creatures, the ignorance of themselves is nature, but in men it is
a vice." Imagine treading into the deep recesses of one's self and
finding someone you never knew existed.
People have long feared invasion by forces from other worlds. If
that horror comes to pass our leaders will stand as our first line of
defense unless, of course, our leaders themselves... are the
invaders.

22. What is our last line of defense? Is it the military, with all of
their power and might? Or is it the courage of a solitary man?
Sleep soundly in the knowledge that the dawn will come. Rest
assured that our leaders are watching over us. But beware. For it
is only their vigilance that stands between our restful slumber...
and the end of the world.

We all struggle to define ourselves; to live our lives with some

sense of balance, with one foot in the past, and the other
reaching... for an uncertain future.
Our yesterdays are like a string of pearls -- unbroken -unchanging. But if we could change our past, would that also
change who we are?

We have always been fascinated with the prospect of renewal.

Built into the very fabric of our self-conscious is the desire for
resurrection, a rebirth of body and soul... a

second chance.
We live. We die. We live again. If we accept the tenuous fragility
of our planet and ourselves perhaps we can avoid the necessity of
rebirth in the distant future. Perhaps we can begin the second
dawning of humankind... today.

What will become of us when we take a hand in our own creation?

In trying to create the new man, will we condemn the old?
What are children but an extension of our own selves... a
reflection of who we are and what we want to become.

The search for truth is a noble venture. But what happens when
that search becomes so obsessive that we no longer find truth
but instead... create it?
Nothing happens by chance. Life has a design all its own. For one
person's sacrifice can be another's... salvation.

Man has taught computers to perform complex calculations, to

control a factory or to launch a spaceship. But can we teach
computers to enjoy the beauty of a rose, the sound of a
symphony... or the love of another human being?
As we become ever dependent on technology we may find that a
walk down the road paved in circuitry leads us on a path... of no
return.