Set in the near future, Terminus explores a passive alien aquatic species (the Sa) who have been on our planet as explorers since the mid-18th century. With a lifespan of centuries, the Sa initially ignored the dominant land-dwelling humans, viewing them as dangerous and backward, and remained hidden in Earth’s oceans.
These alien Sa explorers become stranded on Earth in modern times when a decidedly aggressive interstellar species (the Sa call Chaos Beings) invade and occupy their home worlds. The Sa are between a Chaos Being ‘rock’ and a human-induced global warming ‘hard place.’ The Sa, particularly adept at genetic manipulation, create a new human species hybrid (the HumanSo) to deal with the growing human threat to Earth’s ecology. This effort fails as human activity drives the planet’s ecosystem toward collapse. The Sa, believing they have no choice for survival as a species, respond to the ongoing environmental disaster with Terminus – a Sa-engineered human viral plague. This genocidal solution to the Human problem saves Earth but at great cost to both human and Sa culture. Earth is now confronted with another threat since the Chaos Beings are likely coming, following Sa refugees from the home worlds. The Sa discover they now need humans to resist this enemy.
Trey Ocean, the main protagonist, represents the human experience as he fights to protect his family as civilization collapses from Terminus. The Ocean family is unique because they have a hidden connection with the Sa rooted in Trey’s tragic past. The novel explores the depths of human darkness and the heights of our capacity to love.
