Compares what writers over the centuries have written about an imaginary future with the reality revealed by time.

An alien invasion which begins with the landing on Jerry Conklin's car of what looks like a huge black box changes life in Lone Pine, Minnesota, and threatens to destroy Earth's civilization

Trapped in the confines of their fragile lifeship, a tiny band of aliens and humans faces the awesome challenge of survival after the mysterious explosion of a giant spaceship. Giles Steel, a member of Earth's master race, assumes responsibility for erupting tempers, the dwindling food supply...and the saboteur whose ugly work has already begun!