Synopsis: "From the back cover of the DAW first edition: "Beyond the empire of man - Somewhere out there among the stars there had to be a greater intelligence than man's. Though mankind had spread out, none had yet contacted such an intelligence. The first of the now fiercely competitive planetary empires to do so might gain power over all the others - if it survived at all. Arcturus was ambitious. Its emblem was the hawk and its leaders thought of themselves as birds of prey. When they were the first to reach an alien powerhouse, the hawks of Arcturus prepared to pounce. And only Chen the Earthman stood in their way. Arcturus may have considered itself to be an irresistible force - but this despised, imprisoned, and insignificant Earthling turned out to be an immovable object."