Chindi

Chindi, Jack McDevitt, Ace Books, 2002

A couple of hundred years from now, a routine survey mission to a neutron star picks up a few seconds of what seems like a transmission of alien origin. The reception wasn't long enough to determine where it came from or where it was going. The next step for the neutron star is to turn into a black hole, so there shouldn�t be anyone or anything in the vicinity. After probes again pick up the signal, a special mission is sent from Earth to investigate.

With pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchinson, the crew are not the usual scientist types, but members of the Contact Society, a group of rich people who fund research into extraterrestrial life. This is important because after 200 years of diligent searching for other civilizations, the results have been very disappointing. Following the signal from one star system to another, the humans find the same type of stealth satellites in orbit around various planets. Even by the standards of interstellar distances, this is a huge relay system. Attempts by companion ships to bring one aboard to study end in disaster.

The crew encounters a planet inhabited by humanoids with wings, who bear a striking resemblance to angels. Hutch is the only one who thinks that landing and establishing contact with the natives is not such a good idea. The "angels" show themselves to be uninterested in contact when they attack the humans with claws and sharp teeth, killing two of them.

Around another planet, the humans find a giant asteroid which is actually an alien spaceship. After much exploration, they determine that it is some sort of automated archaeological survey ship, picking up bits of other cultures from throughout the galaxy. The satellites signal when a culture is sufficiently advanced to warrant a visit.

This is a gem of a book. It's nice and mind-blowing, the author does a fine job throughout, and the science is kept to reasonable levels.