An alien spaceship engages in an orbit around Earth and then disperses capsules which fall onto ground and ocean landings. Some of the space capsules are retrieved and are opened and researched. The devices within eventually offer a new communication medium in an extra dimension that allows instantaneous communication over many light years of distance. A special communication center is created on Earth to exchange scientific and historical information between Earth and Tegra 21 light years away. Science and politics on Earth are profoundly affected by the history and culture of an alien planet that has been in existence many generations longer than Earth. The history and culture of Tegra offer an example of how an advanced worldly civilization has learned to live without major conflicts and without overextending the resources of their Earth-like planet.