[Ciencia Ficción - Grandes Éxitos (Ultramar) 102] • Michaelmas

Cover Artist: Don Brautigam

The eponymous protagonist, Laurent Michaelmas, is an ex-hacker who had, early in the computer era, left back doors in many key pieces of software which run vital government commercial computers. As a result, by the turn of the millennium, he's become one of the most powerful men on earth, because of his ability to spy influence through the world wide computer network.

By the time of the novel, Michaelmas has successfully used his power to create sustain a powerful version of the UN to ensure world peace. He stays in the background, however, as a journalist, albeit a highly influential respected one whose opinions can still influence public opinion. However, as the novel progresses, he slowly learns that a possible extraterrestrial presence may be interfering with the new world he has worked so hard to create.

The novel is remarkable for its prescience, because it appeared less than a decade into the Internet era, long before its current prominence ubiquity. Its description of journalism its professional culture are likewise highly developed, mainly due to the late Budrys' residence near Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, which appears in the book.