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Prologue–Chapter 2 Summary Prologue It is the late twentieth century. For years, the Soviet Union and the United States have been in a race to create the first spaceship with a nuclear drive. Reinhold is the main scientist for the U.S.; Konrad Schneider is the USSR's specialist. However, just as both scientists are poised for success, giant alien spaceships appear from the skies and land over every major world city. Chapter 2 The first chapter takes place five years after the prologue. The Overlords, as the humans call the aliens, have "conquered" all of Earth and set about instituting many new changes. For six days after their arrival, the ships had hovered over the cities, watching the worlds' reaction. On the sixth day, the voice of the being that humans would come to call the Supervisor, Karellen, was relayed across every radio frequency. Speaking perfect English, Karellen informed all of Earth that its affairs were being taken over. Instantly, nations realized their sovereignty was at an end. One superpower attempted to destroy a rival by firing a nuclear missile at an Overlord ship, but the missile had simply vanished into thin air. Only one government had refused to submit to the admittedly fair demands of the Overlords. The Republic of South Africa would not end its policy of discrimination, so the Overlords mysteriously blocked out the sun for half an hour. Afterward, no further demonstrations of power were needed. From then on, life steadily improved for all of humanity throughout the world, as the Overlords effected their changes. While most of the Overlords' commands are transmitted through text messages, the Earth does have one personal liaison to Karellen: Stormgren, the Secretary- General of the United Nations. As the chapter begins, Stormgren is about to meet with Wainwright, a clergyman and the leader of the Freedom League, an organizatio that opposes the domination of the Overlords, despite the Overlords' so-far friendly attitude. The Freedom League objects to the "coddling" of the Overlords, meddling in human affairs. They don't like the idea of the World Federation, the Overlords' plan for a world government. Even more importantly, they object to the fact that the Overlords will not reveal what they look like. Even Stormgren, who has met with Karellen for years, has never actually seen him. Stormgren agrees to address the League's concerns at his next meeting with the Supervisor. Stormgren accordingly visits Karellen soon after. He is taken up in a tiny, egg- shaped ship to Karellen's ship, which hovers fifty kilometers over New York. Karellen already knows all about the interview with Wainwright, because the Overlords have spying devices all over Earth. Karellen banters with Stormgren, and points out that men like Wainwright fear Karellen because he is a powerful threat to the world's religions. He knows that they wonder how long the Overlords have been watching mankind, and whether they know the truth behind Buddha, Christ and Muhammed. As for revealing himself, Karellen tells Stormgren that he will consult his superiors and ask for permission. Chapters 3–4 Summary Chapter 3 Stormgren is having trouble sleeping. He goes out on his balcony and contemplates over New York City. He is becoming obsessed with wondering what Karellen looks like. He is sure that there is no form he could not come to accept and perhaps even find beautiful. The next day, Stormgren's assistant, Van Ryberg, discovers that Stormgren has gone missing. Stormgren awakes to find himself a prisoner in an underground bunker. His captor is "Joe," who claims that the bunker cannot be reached by the Overlords' spying devices. At first, Stormgren believes that Wainwright has planned this, but when he remembers Wainwright's opposition to violence, it dawns on him that his kidnapping is the work of a radical contingent of the Freedom League. Joe tells Stormgren that they will wait several days for some "visitors" to arrive. These "visitors" turn out to be a group of well-dressed gentlemen, lead by an old Welshman. They are interested in knowing as much as they can about Stormgren's trips to visit Karellen. Stormgren describes the small, egg-shaped ship that transports him up to Karellen's flagship and the room where he meets with Karellen. The room contains a blank viewscreen; Karellen can see Stormgren through it, but not vice versa. Stormgren tries to persuade the gentlemen that Karellen and has only good intentions, pointing out the ban on cruelty to animals. He also notes how hopeless their cause is, since the Overlords are near omnipotent. The gentlemen ignore this argument, but they suggest that perhaps a device could be used to examine the small room where Stormgren meets with Karellen. Suddenly, the gentlemen freeze completely, as if time itself had stood still. Karellen's voice comes to Stormgren from a small floating device. Karellen has used Stormgren as "bait" so he could locate and track these gentlemen. As Karellen leads Stormgren to freedom, Stormgren decides that he might create a device himself to investigate the small room. Chapter 4 Stormgren meets with a scientist friend, who agrees to make a tiny device that could investigate the conference room where Stormgren meets with Karellen. The scientist points out that the "blank screen" Karellen uses to see Stormgren may actually be no more than a piece of one-way glass. Several weeks later, Stormgren goes to his usual meeting, carrying the paperwork for the proposed world government, the World Federation. He also has a small scanning device built into his briefcase. At the meeting, Karellen tells him that the Overlords will reveal their physical appearance to the world in fifty years. This will satisfy many supporters of the Freedom League, if not the League itself. Wainwright is not happy with the decision, believing that mankind will have lost all its independence and memory of independence within fifty years. Stormgren disagrees, but either way the Freedom League has lost some of their credibility. Stormgren then consults with his scientist friend. Their suspicions are confirmed: Karellen is standing directly behind the "viewscreen," or rather, the one-way glass. The scientist then arms Stormgren with a powerful flashlight that he can use to see Karellen. Stormgren meets with Karellen for the last time, since he will be retiring from the position of Secretary-General soon. Karellen tells him that when the Overlords reveal themselves, the human race will suffer a brief "psychological discontinuity" but they will recover, since the humans of that age will be more stable and used to the Overlords. Karellen also admits that the Overlords have "had failures" in shepherding other races, but he won't say anything more. As he finishes speaking, Karellen suddenly cries "good-bye," and Stormgren barely has time to put the flashlight up to the glass. Years later, in an interview, a journalist asks Stormgren about the rumor that he once saw Karellen. Stormgren denies it, but the narrator tells the reader that Stormgren did see Karellen and understands why the Overlords must wait to reveal themselves. Chapters 5–6 Summary Chapter 5 It is fifty years since Stormgren retired, and the day that the Overlords will finally reveal themselves to mankind has arrived. There is only one ship now, Karellen's ship, hovering over New York; all the other ships, over the other world capitals, turned out to be mere projections. The ship moves away from New York and lands in a wide field. As thousands of reporters and onlookers surround the ship, a door opens. Karellen's voice is heard, inviting two children near the entrance to come up. Karellen then steps out of the ship, cradling a child in each arm. He is much taller than a human, perhaps nine or ten feet tall. He has ebony-black skin, leathery wings, and large horns protruding from his head. He also has a long, barbed tail. In short, Karellen looks exactly like a medieval drawing of the Devil. To the credit of the Overlords' work on Earth, only a few humans faint at the sight of this ancient legend come to life. Chapter 6 In the fifty years since Stormgren's retirement, the Overlords have created a single world government. In a flashback, Karellen explains to Stormgren that the best way to fight problems is through the "correct" use of power. For instance, if a dictator chose to lead his nation in defying the Overlords and their power, Karellen would not simply destroy the country with weapons. Instead, he would slowly drive the leader mad with whispers in their head, preventing them from sleeping or thinking clearly. With these subtle, psychological methods, the Overlords were able to achieve peace on Earth. The brief shock and revulsion that some people felt after seeing the Overlords for the first time has quickly worn off, though some people are still panicked when they see an Overlord. The narrator suggests that this may be due to "racial memory," the idea that humans may have had a disastrous contact with the Overlords in the past, and so they had developed an instinct to fear the appearance of the Devil. The Overlords now rarely leave their ship, for the gravity of Earth is too strong for them, and the sunlight too harsh.
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