Stranger In A Strange Land

Valentine Michael (“Mike”) Smith was born on Mars to two members of the first expedition from Earth. The only survivor of the expedition, he was raised by Martians. When he is about 25 years old, a second expedition arrives, and he returns with them to Earth, which has endured a third world war. The world is now ruled by the Federation High Council, and organized religions wield incredible power. Although Mike is technically an Earthling, Earth is an entirely alien culture to him, and it is often terrifying; he truly is a “stranger in a strange land.” He is taken to Bethesda Medical Center in the United States, where his body adjusts to life on Earth. Nurse Gillian (“Jill”) Boardman, the first woman Mike has ever seen, fears that the government might harm Mike, who has an ownership claim to Mars. She helps him escape, and they are pursued by two men whom Mike makes disappear. Jill and Mike take refuge at the home of Jubal Harshaw—who is described as a “bon vivant, gourmet, sybarite, popular author extraordinary, and neo-pessimist philosopher”—and he becomes a father figure to Mike.

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