The P-18 Intervention

In defiance of the “Prime Directive”, geneticist Loam Coll and his fellow Napourians inoculate the early aborigines of a planet named “P-18”. Their syringes contained Solegium, a newly discovered protein that they hope will accelerate the intellectual development of P-18’s natives to the extent that they can defend themselves against the onslaught of the murderous Miners. Unfortunately, a dissident group of ultraconservatives, who vow to support the Prime Directive, attempt to thwart the plans of Coll’s group at every turn. After twenty millennia, Coll's group returns to P-18 to check on the progress of their patients and finds several startling developments: the hominids have matured far beyond expectations; Jim Michaels, a spelunker, has discovered the hidden Napourian base and has been pouring over their computer records; the still, very active noninterventionists want Michaels dead for no apparent reason; and everything revolves around some UFO’s that don’t really exist.