Six million years ago, the Xorri race faced extinction. Their sun was on the verge of going nova. When they discovered this fact, they had two centuries to prepare. After reviewing a number of alternatives, they decided they did not want to leave their culture and the planet Xorr behind. The advanced society crafted immense machinery, which at the moment of their sun's explosion covered their planet with an impenetrable shell of nuclear force. The shell proved capable of shielding the planet from the explosion, although the force of the explosion did send the entire planet, shell and all, careening through space. Over the eons, the shield contracted, and its nuclear energies caused the planet to contract with it. Ultimately, the shield crystallized, becoming an immense jewel, less than a t