 While the story begins as hard science fiction describing Pyotr's flight to home on shuttle Spiral, later the emphasis drifts from technical details.The books are known for bright worlds of Geometers (a cynical deconstruction of the world of Upbringing and the famous Noon Universe of Strugatsky brothers) and Shadow (a world of utter individualism, in which every person is treated according with an often unpleasant reality of one's subconsciousness).In the beginning of the 21st century a group of scientists from MSU invented a jumper, a device allowing FTL travel.