In 2006, a nanotechnologist becomes a witness to a string of strange events in global science—experiments with particle accelerators yield contradictory results, causing scientists who believe that the limits of knowledge of the universe have been reached to commit suicide. The protagonist agrees to participate in the investigation, after which he begins to be haunted by numbers with a countdown. The military and intelligence services come to the conclusion that someone or something is trying to slow down scientific progress on Earth.