Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers
It tells the story of an astronomer, Ellie Arroway, who is the leader of a project that discovers the first confirmed communication from extraterrestrial beings. The message contains the plans for a machine that serves as an intergalactic vehicle, one of which is successfully constructed and activated by humans, transporting 5 passengers through wormholes to a place where they meet the senders of the message, and are told, among other things, how to discover an "artist's signature" in the universe.
A film adaptation[?] of Contact, starring Jodie Foster, was released in 1997.
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