Book excerpt: BEYOND the ICE WALL by C. Z. Vardley Vegetation killing virus (VKV) has escaped and is destroying civilization after 2026 and thus thinning oxygen from the atmosphere drastically. Near the end of the 24th Century mankind has long been totally dominated by a group called Ultimate Control Command (UCC). This organization has forced the reverse evolution of people until they are only tiny in body and without much spirit. They must breathe through tubes attached to backpacks, like ocean divers do today. The virus can't reproduce in ice, so the few humans still alive exist behind a high ice wall they've built across southern Alaska and Canada. A few normal sized workers are kept as slaves to maintain the ice wall, until two escape. This starts a chase involving tiny soldiers and a giant robot with polar bears as its trackers. A big flying saucer Generadmiral Schnicknalgruten Pavlich commands, while bossing and intimidating everyone, is an important feature of the story. His powers are finally challenged by a totally surprising source and the final fight for the world occurs.