EXCERPT

Life in the middle of the twenty-second century is viewed through the eyes of Moq, the brilliant-young-thinking son of a multibillionaire of Toronto, and of Shanti, a redhead from the Alpha-Centauri star system.

Moq has all the advantages of the world, but is unsettled because he thinks that modern conveniences have made people pleasure-seekers, that life is meaningless without purpose and struggle.

Shanti comes from a society which is advanced enough to have interstellar travel, but is running out of fuel needed for electricity. She travels to Earth to learn about a new method of Fusion which uses silicon found in plentiful sand as fuel for electricity.

Moq and Shanti lead parallel lives unknown to each other, until their life-trajectories intersect first in New York, where Shanti is saved by Moq from a kidnap-attempt by people who cannot believe that an extraterrestrial is not a spy for some invaders, and later in Paris where Moq is sent as an assassin but turns into a lover-savior.

After landing in the Death Valley, Shanti is helped by the three-dimensional-TV actor Bob to take the driverless taxi through the post-Great-Earthquake Los Angeles, where all buildings are underground and have rooftop gardens, so as to reach the Space Propulsion Laboratory in Santa Catalina. There Shanti helps the astronomers discover a new planet in the Alpha-Centauri star system and convinces the reputed American astronomer Kris that in spite of looking like a beautiful Earth-woman, she is a knowledge-peace-seeking E.T.

Shanti travels to Green Grove to visit the Nuclear-Fusion plant. While walking down a street, she becomes part of a protest march representing the phobia against anything "Nuclear", and is shot. No one comes to Shanti's aid. She manages to reach a place which looks like a hospital but is a Cosmetic-Bettering Clinic. They are very suspicious because Shanti does not have a Gene-Map card. Finally, an intern patches her up, and Shanti manages to escape before it is discovered that Shanti's genes combine human genes with plant genes and that she needs no food since she can get nutrients directly from air.

Kris finds out about Shanti's brush with danger and soon arrives in Green Grove. Their relationship evolves from teacher-pupil to soulmates-lovers.

From Green Grove, Shanti and Kris, travel to Dallas and visit Genes'R'Us. Shanti learns about the latest genetic developments, where plant genes are combined such that the genetically-engineered plants can get their nutrients directly from air and need no water or fertilizer. However, the best genetic experts of Earth are astounded when they learn that the same idea has been developed further on Shanti's planet so that people living there need no food or water. They just need frequent breaths of fresh air. Another great incentive for a clean environment!

Shanti is presented to the United Nations of Earth, which governs all countries of the World. But many UNE representatives do not believe that she is an Ambassador of Peace from another planet. While walking in New York, Shanti is saved from a kidnap attempt. Her savior is Moq, who had left his family-arranged marriage to a "suitable" girl and was looking for "purpose and struggle". Shanti thanks the awkward-gangly boy and manages to return to Kris at their hotel.

Kris tells Shanti that the ICE has destroyed her spaceship and sent assassins to kidnap or kill her.

Shanti must part from her teacher-lover, and escape to England. There she is helped by the amateur astronomer Dennis, who is a member of the Search for Extra Terrestrial International. They travel together to Stonehenge, the four-thousand-year old observatory. Shanti marvels at the arrangement of stones for astronomical studies without any telescopes. But this pleasant period is interrupted by the news that ICE has taken root in England and that they are searching for the alien.

Dennis arranges for Shanti to take the Chunnel train to Paris. There she learns that Kris has been kidnapped by the PPO. She offers to meet PPO so as to surrender herself in exchange for the freedom of Kris. PPO sends Moq, who had decided to join them to get firsthand experience of "purpose and struggle". But Moq falls in love with the E.T., and they travel as Mr. and Mrs. Aguer on the fabulous Inter-Continental Express train from France to Germany.

The couple enjoys the hospitality in Berlin of the music scholar Faessler, and learns about the division of Germany into two parts in the nineteen-forties and unification forty years later. They also learn about the great composers Bath and Beethoven and about the ideas inspired by them.

They visit Warsaw, the birthplace of Madam Curie, the inventor of radium and the first female Nobel Laureate in Physics, also the land of Walesa who fired the second shot for freedom which was heard around the World..

Then they are escorted in Moscow and during the rest of their journey by Asha, a Russian employee of Moq's Plasteel Company. They go on the ICE to Akademgorodok, the Russian Science City near Novosibirsk. But before they can visit the scientists, Moq recognizes a couple of persons as ICE operatives, and they have to abort their plans and go back to the ICE.

While near the end of the ICE journey in Vladivostok, Moq learns that his father had a second heart attack from which he is not expected to recover, so he must hand over his love to Kris, who finally caught up with them, and he returns to his father's bedside. The whole family is destroyed in a Bomb attack by the PPO, who felt betrayed by Moq and his family.

Since her people do not have enough energy to transmit across the vast space between their planet and Earth, Shanti is unable to call home, and is unable to return to her planet. She and Kris escape to Japan, and finally find peace and shelter in India.