Book excerpt: Future scientists, struggling with overpopulation and the ruin of Earth's natural environment, devise an ambitious plan to manage further growth of human numbers. Earth Government hastily implements the plan--the only alternative, forced population control, is not politically attractive. Adam Hampton, the newest member of the project's organizing team, objects to an overly optimistic use of old and some very new technologies. He suspects that the plan is fundamentally flawed, that the lives of the many young volunteers are at risk. But, in the beginning, he cannot point to anything specific. He can only watch and wait while three of his best friends--and millions of others--begin what they believe will be a great adventure and a new life. The eager volunteers reach their destination, but events don't go as planned. They must soon fight for bare survival--against an ancient menace that had plagued mankind and animalkind since life first began.