The Vanity of Hope

1499 A.D. Thomas Ryder is a medieval gamekeeper with a lot on his mind. Where does he belong in the world of Nature? What hope for a peaceful mind? When will the aliens make their final move?Abducted from Alice Holt Forest, along with his fiancée, Sarra Chambers, he is taken to the hyper-technology planet of Heyre and trained by superior beings to be their Great King against an encroaching, undefeated destroyer of worlds. As his knowledge grows beyond that of any human who has ever lived, his inner world becomes increasingly chaotic. The planet's perception-distorting technologies of artificial intelligence, bio-machine integration, genetic engineering, and virtual reality lead him to question the very nature of what it means to be human. Inferior to all around him, he is feted as a savior king by deed of his mysterious connection to a supernatural creature whose background influence points to a greater, more ancient war.Can one man save the world? Will Thomas Ryder survive the Great War of mortals and fulfill his destiny in the ultimate confrontation for the soul of the universe?