Apostles of Mercy

Second sequel to instant New York Times bestseller Axiom's End, thisalternate history first-contact adventure deepens the exploration of a worldfaced with extra terrestrial intelligence. First Contact has not been goingwell. The nations of Earth are rapidly militarizing against the arrival of theSuperorganism, an alien civilization that promises to destroy humanity beforeit can develop into a real threat. The Superorganism has done it before-totheir distant transient relatives, the rebel Superorganisms-and they couldeasily do it again. But the alien Ampersand and his human interpreter andliaison Cora Sabino are done with trying to save humanity from both theSuperorganism and itself; to them, this is a civilization that does notdeserve to be saved. When a strange new form of communication between the twoof them reveals to Cora how alien Ampersand truly is, she begins to questionher blind devotion-to say nothing of the wisdom of fleeing Earth with him. Butshe soon learns of a danger that may force them to leave before either of themare ready: a group of superorganism enemies that been wreaking havoc on Earthfor decades. Existence on the margins has made them desperate, hungry, andbent on revenge against any of Ampersand's race whose path they cross. BeforeCora and Ampersand can make their final escape, these hostile aliens stage anattack, and take that which is most dear to both of them. Ampersand's enemieswill not consider any form of truce; the greatest threat to them is not fromthe Superorganism, but from an increasingly fearful and violent humancivilization newly aware of their existence, and they will not hesitate todestroy humanity before it destroys them. Cora and Ampersand must go toextreme measures to take back what was stolen and prevent wholesale humanextermination-but in doing so they may be no better than the civilizationsthey are trying to escape.