The Watchers are the caretakers of the universe. They travel from world to world, studying new life, protecting it from harm. Among them are the best geneticists, philosophers, astronomers, linguists, anthropologists, mathematicians, and artists of the Home Worlds. When intelligent life begins to emerge, the Watchers make contact, befriending the new humans and teaching them. They remain for a time, then leave, always promising to return. In this way, new civilizations develop and mature, eventually joining the Home Worlds. And so it has been for ages.
And so it was on Earth. The Watchers found life here and nurtured it, making gradual genetic changes that resulted in increasingly intelligent hominids. At the proper time, contact was made and humans were taught that they were part of something much larger – the family of the universe. With each visit, humanity learned and prospered.
An unimaginable betrayal left a group of Watchers stranded here on Earth. With no connection to the Home Worlds, they were forced to make a choice: Do they follow the rules and risk losing the last remnant of civilized life in the universe, or do they break their oath and set humanity on a path that may doom them all?
200 courageous Watchers made the difficult choice. Others disagreed and lived separate from humanity. And one dedicated himself to the destruction of the Watchers – and the humans they swore to protect.