Book excerpt: The second volume of The Pontiff and The Prophet trilogy (The City and The Wilderness) tells the story of Antonlonello (the Prophet), his escape through the northern wilderness of Norumbega, his capture, and death in the levels of Quebec. It also depicts the various aspects of life lived in the theocratic world Utopia of a far distant future. It portrays the outlawed prophetic movement called the Ekklessia, life in the slum city of Sordesium, and it tells the story of the second and third generations of Prophet followers. The novel concludes with the story of Victor Dutton and Olivia Preager in the great domed cities of Boston, Quebec, and Rome. Dutton is suspected of conspiracy in the death of the Prophet. An investigation follows that reaches into the highest levels of the Pontifi cal Utopia. A number of central characters populate this utopian trilogy - among the most important being the mysterious fi gure of Mecox. The story refl ects the internal struggles and early evolution of multiple Christianities, and the slow emergence of orthodoxy.