The story of the novella "The Guest Star" follows two students of the Great Library of Alexandria in their scientific search for knowledge at the end of the second century AD, portrayed from a slightly different perspective and beyond the commonly accepted clichés in Roman Empire history. The Guest Star is also a historical adventure in which ancient Roman and Chinese cultures intertwined at the start of the Silk Road, several years before the first major civil war erupted after the death of Emperor Commodus. The main character is based on the life of Herodian of Antioch, a Greek historian, author of a "History of the Roman Empire since the Death of Marcus Aurelius" in which he describes the reign of Commodus, the Year of the Five Emperors, the age of the Severan dynasty, and the Year of the Six Emperors.