[ SCI-FI ] GLACIAL BY ALASTAIR REYNOLDS [ FULL AUDIOBOOK ]

"Glacial" is set a short time after the events of "Great Wall of Mars". The two stories are the first chronological appearances of Nevil Clavain.

The Conjoiners have escaped upon their starship, named the Sandra Voi, to an ice planet called Diadem (which orbits the star Ross 248, 11.4 light years from Earth). It is home to an American colony, seeded decades ago by automated robots containing human DNA, but it appears deserted. Everyone is dead and seem to have shown signs of insanity before they died. Clavain is collecting the planet's native worms for studying. He and Galiana explore more of the colony, when they discover a corpse at the bottom of a crevasse. Upon closer inspection, they see the name on the man's spacesuit is "Setterholm". His helmet is detached from his suit, but Clavain realises that he would not have been able to leave the airlock without it being fully attached. He also notices the initials "IVF" carved into the ice nearby.