Wealthy entrepreneur Braxton Thorpe is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has his head cryonically preserved when he dies and wakens a century later inside an electronic matrix. Thorpe and the team that revived him work together, advancing the science of human uploads. As uploads, they spread through the GlobalNet, where they meet the Oort, an uploaded race that pre-existed humanity. Thorpe and his team extrapolate from Oort technology to develop MERT wormhole portals for instantaneous transit between distant places, and also develop FTL drives for long-distance travel where the destination is not connected by a MERT Portal. The Oort warns Thorpe of an incoming invasion of the Solar System from the star Aster in the constellation Aries. They create the Oort Federation to coordinate Solar System defense and in the meantime to provide protection from the nefarious activities of Russian rogue Oligarch Isidor Orlov and his Udachny Enterprises.
The invaders arrive, penetrating all the way to Earth, before the Federation finally stops them. Although Earth receives some damage, the Federation eventually destroys the invading force, capturing one ship and two alien pilots. Another ship escapes to make its way back to the invaders’ home system.