THE MASTER PLANNERS—AND THE SCHEME THAT COULD CHANGE THE SHAPE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

Far beyond the searching eye of any creature, in the darkness and emptiness of space itself, the ship dispatched a capsule. No sooner had it effected this than it vanished among the stars, lost in the outer reaches.

Then suddenly the capsule exploded without a sound, without a flash, and a billion captive motes, suddenly free, spread over vast distances in the upper air. Some floated aimlessly; others drifted toward Earth.

But the planners knew this would happen. Some, they knew, would survive this day. Few would survive many days. None would survive more than a week—unless...

"Jerry Sohl undoubtedly possesses one of the most imaginative minds of our day."
—Houston Post

Jerry Sohl is the acclaimed writer for Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and scores more novels and TV/movie scripts.