Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Then he was discovered by the recruiters for the Battle School. For Earth...

The Starways Congress decides that the deadly virus on Lusitania must be wiped out and sends a fleet to destroy it. After the fleet disappears, Gloriously Bright, the most brilliant mind in a world of people bred for superintelligence, is selected to solve the mystery.