Planet Song (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780995166714)

The Fahr have an addiction.

Teracia is a member of the aquatic Fahr, the oldest, most powerful and longest-lived sapient species in the galaxy. The Fahr are addicted to song, so much so that they create large corporate entities to travel the galaxy in search of pets that can sing. Teracia, who has a deep concern for the fate of such species, talks her way onboard one of the Fahr corporate ships.

The ship arrives on Earth during the middle of the 14th century.

There's an immediate buzz on board with the realization that Earth's oceans are teeming with aquatic singers. There is also a problem. The planet has a sapient species, a stagnant and plague-ravished humanity. By Fahr law, they must ensure that their pet collecting activities do not interfere with this species.

Commander Prostallen decides to collect the pets, in defiance of the law, and worry about the consequences later. They land in the Pacific Ocean where they discover the real prize, the humpback whale. The song of this animal is so powerful that it kills the first thirty Fahr exposed to it.

Despite this tragedy Prostallen soon realizes with certain dangerous frequencies filtered out, humpback whale song will become the ultimate sonic drug and a huge boost to the corporation's profits. He returns to their home planet to get a bigger ship, a round-trip journey that takes 650 years.

Aided by a crucial piece of abandoned Fahr technology and their own inventiveness, the human race makes astonishing technological progress over the next 600 years. When the Fahr return with their new ship, they find a humanity that has evolved into a much different beast, this one capable of much stiffer resistance to Fahr corporate plans.