Flare

In the mild climate of a decades-long Maunder minimum—a recurring cessation in sunspot activity—humankind has explored the solar system and expanded to the farthest planets. No one is prepared when the Sun awakes with a massive flare that has been a million years in development deep within the stellar core. Its burst of electromagnetic energy, followed by a shower of ionized particles, rips across the system with devastating results. A team of astronomers led by the indomitable Sultana Carr reestablishes the science of solar physics and helps to heal the devastation.