The Paracommunicator is a uniquely carved artifact from prehistoric times. Composed of two segments, one half is found on the wild West Coast of Northern New Zealand by Aroha, a beautiful though unsophisticated young Maori woman. The other half is discovered by Herb who is also of Maori origin. The Paracommunicator establishes links with Aroha and Herb, with unforeseen consequences...

Hermann Maurer is an Austrian computer scientist, serving as Professor of Computer Science at the Graz University of Technology. He has supervised over 40 dissertations, written more than 20 books and over 600 scientific articles, and started or been involved with a number of companies. He thinks that future applications of computers can barely be described using today's terminology, and so employs metaphors such as telepathy and teleportation when discussing them.