Synopsis: From the first page of the DAW first printing: Is there such a thing as the ultimate weapon? Can war be ended once and for all? Is the destruction of the universe necessary to achieve peace? The focus is on George Corson, an Earthman on a secret mission, which, if it comes off, will bring victory to Earth in it long smoldering war with the birdlike inhabitants of the planet Uria. Central to the scheme is the wild pegasone, the most deadly beast in the known universe, that is just about to bear its horde of young which between them could quickly lay waste to an entire planet. But what Corson takes to be a strange accident transporting him 6,000 years into the future proves to be nothing of the kind, and he soon finds himself used as a pawn in a cosmic game played by beings as close to gods as any may dare imagine.