A Deepness In The Sky (zones Of Thought)

A renowned professor of computer science and mathematics pens a spellbinding novel about two rival trading societies--one good and one evil--that are awaiting a planet's 200-year awakening into a Golden Age of technology so they can pursue commerce with the planet's inhabitants.

After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. Two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds.
The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches. But first, both groups must wait at the aliens' very doorstep for their strange star to relight and for their planet to reawaken, as it does every tow hundred and fifty years....
Then, following terrible treachery, the Qeng Ho must fight for their freedom and for the lives of the unsuspecting innocents on the planet below, while the aliens themselves play a role unsuspected by the Qeng Ho and Emergents alike.
More than just a great science fiction adventure, "A Deepness in the Sky "is a universal drama of courage, self-discovery, and the redemptive power of love.