From the Hugo and Nebula Award--winning author: "High adventure, considerable tension, and--most important--social consciousness" (Harlan Ellison).

Simeon Krug is the king of the universe. A self-made man, he is the Bill Gates of the era, having built a megacommercial empire on the backs of his products: androids, genetically engineered human slaves. Having amassed incredible wealth, his next major goal is to communicate with aliens living in an uninhabitable world, sending a mysterious signal. This requires building a mile high tower in the arctic tundra.

The androids want civil equality with humans, but are divided on the best means to the goal--political agitation or religious devotion to Krug, their creator. And Krug's son, Manuel, is reluctant to step into his role as heir to his father's empire.