Synopsis: Suppose humanoids from a relatively close part of our galaxy came to earth not as mentors or monsters but simply as trading partners. Earth could not compete with the economy of scale of their production and distribution networks. Early in the 22nd century, half a century after the arrival of these aliens, our planet has become economically depressed, exporting raw materials and mirroring the dependency of Third World countries during the 20th century. A multicultural team based in New York City has developed a limited form of time travel based more on spirituality than science. They summon a man from our era to recover lost information that will help them transform our global culture into a planetary culture that can play in the interstellar game. The title of the book refers to a famous poem by the Taoist philosopher Zhuang Zhou (Chuang Tzu). The story develops an old idea that the human soul has components, a recognition that is utilized by a second team of earthlings who specialize in limited teleportation. The plot explores other aspects of humanity's future including: romance, ethnicity, education, baseball, computer games, and planetary government. This book is self-referential, emulating The Saragossa Manuscript but set 300 years later.