The Plague Forge

Abstract

The novel follows the last two books of the Dire Earth Cycle. The narrative is set in the 23rd century and introduces the protagonist, Skyler, who is immune to an alien plague that affects humans and makes them extremely aggressive. Along with the scientist Dr. Tania, Skyler is sent outside the only remaining city on the planet, Darwin (in Australia), that is sheltered from the plague due to a massive elevator that was built by the aliens and that creates a protective aura around it. Eventually, Skyler and Tania are sent outside to gather scientific knowledge about the aliens, the elevator, and the plague. After discovering a new elevator in Brazil and establishing a colony there, the duo see the emergence of a new threat: immune soldiers who are part of a religious cult and seek to attack them. Now, in this third novel, The Plague Forge, the truth behind the aliens is revealed: they installed the elevators in several planets so as to monitor the development of intelligent life on them, and they intended to promote the spreading of a substance so as to reshape life on planets according to their will. So, specifically on planet Earth, humans served as test subjects and, as the aliens researched them, so did the humans (especially Dr. Tania) tried to understand the aliens’ designs and gather scientific knowledge about them.