Neal R Wagner

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In the near future, civilization collapses, in a novel about computers, the environment and religion. "He was going to get the three of them out of that terrible place if he had to stir up half the globe. Later he would worry about consequences, unintended side effects ... " The disaster starts when three scientists on vacation in Mongolia are captured in secret and forced to work on a nuclear weapons project. Two men based in the huge virtual city of Atlantis carry out an elaborate rescue attempt that spirals out of control, starting nuclear and biological warfare, and a worldwide economic breakdown. A precocious young deaf girl plays a crucial role leading up to the collapse. In the aftermath, as she struggles to survive in a small Missouri town, she writes diary entries that are intertwined with the main chapters. Her town is isolated and ravaged by diseases, but a new religious group called the Sweepers helps them cope with their many deaths. Secrets float in the air like ghosts, waiting for some resolution.