Nice story, not wonderful. I appreciate the concise references to many off-page events that led to characterization.
Has some interesting twists right from the beginning. The ending is a little convenient, but it was a fresh journey getting there.

Very entertaining.

The intellectual joy of being "thrown in the deep end" and having to figure out an alien environment is delicious.

There is some commentary on the obvious solution to increasing population and decreasing farmland: build cities underground! By the end, most is made clear, especially with respect to the title. But it leaves some important things to the imagination.

Consider the premise that you could ask a super-being any question and get an answer. Wouldn't the answer depend on your understanding? If you ask, "What is the meaning of life?" how would you come to understand the answer?

Remember that, "Learning occurs at the edge of knowledge." The Answerer can not "leap" you forward over what you don't know. And it can't help you "unlearn" incorrect assumptions. The Answerer even appears differently to each species that approaches it.

Very entertaining and thought-provoking. I recommend it.

Somewhat tedious, full of drama, signifying little.

Interesting premise about attempting to translate the characters found on a non-terrestrial sphere.

But it seems completely unrelated to a circular time system, as mentioned in the description (above).

Doesn't take too long to read, but entirely unfruitful, IMHO.