A tortured man's visions hold the key to mankind's future in Robert
Silverberg's post-apocalyptic masterpiece
Life in the blasted wasteland of 2103 California is nasty, brutish, and
short. If the savage "scratchers" don't kill you, the poisoned
environment will. But one man wanders this desolate landscape and sees
beauty: glorious visions of impossible places and majestic beings not of
Earth. Scorned and mocked as a madman, Tom doubts his sanity until his
visions mysteriously begin to spread to others and a returning star
probe offers evidence that they are real. Now, as a new religion is
born, with Tom as its reluctant messiah, violent forces are
unleashed--forces that have the power to transform humanity . . . or
destroy it.