Description:

A great change came over the nation in the last part of the 20th century: Nehemiah Scudder showed up at the height of America's secular decadence, bearing the rod and the wrath of the Lord for those who opposed him, the promise of heavenly bliss for those who followed. Under his banner, America was transformed into a high-tech version of a medieval theocracy--a religious dictatorship that was to endure 100 years. But nothing lasts forever. "If This Goes On--" John Lyle had been a believer all his life. When he turned 18, his uncle had prayed an appointment for him to the Military Academy at West Point, which perfectly suited the young man's temperament and hopes for the future. John was not a brilliant student, but upon graduation--because of his consistently high marks in piety, no doubt--he was assigned to the personal guard of the Prophet Incarnate, the Angels of the Lord. Life at New Jerusalem did not turn out to be quite as he imagined, however. To his shock, he discovered that priests and ministers of state did not spend their day contemplating matters of faith, but rather scrambling for the power and favor at the hand of the Prophet. He found himself surrounded by intrigues, even the officers of his own corps were corrupt. But when he spoke of such things to his more worldly friend, Zebadiah Jones, Zeb just said that John was extraordinarily naive [sic] and would grow up sooner or later. The process began sooner, in a manner John never expected. It was while walking guard duty that he chanced to meet Sister Judith, one of the Holy Virgins consecrated to the Prophet. In the normal course of events they'd have passed each other by without a glance. But they were both so young and lonely . . . and that night duty, and the Inquisition, were easy to forget. Suddenly overpowered by feelings he'd long denied, John realized that there was no place he and Judith could ever really be together in the Prophet's America. Yet there were those who dreamed of a new society, and they needed men and women of courage and vision. So John Lyle, devout Angel of the Lord, set his life on a new course--dedicating himself to the fight for freedom. This volume also includes two shorter works set in the aftermath of the revolution, "Coventry" and "Misfit".