Isso soa muito parecido com o romance "Riding the Torch", de Norman Spinrad.
RESUMO DA PLOTAÇÃO:
Set in the distant future where a convoy of several hundred “torch ships,” containing what is left of mankind, have been traveling through space for more than a 1000 years looking for a new home after Earth went FUBAR. While the convoy meanders through space, the mysterious Council of Pilots coordinate long range survey ships to seeking out habitable planets. The survey pilots, known as “voidsuckers,” are aloof and detached, and spend their time secluded from the rest of the convoy.
E então
When the Council of Pilots announces that one of their scouts has discovered a potentially habitable planet, Jofe is given the rare opportunity of joining the scouting team. What Jofe learns and his experience with the pilots transforms both him and the story and sets the stage of the exploration of the fundamental theme of the story.