Synopsis: The protagonist is an exceptionally brilliant child born in a city deep underground, inhabited only by hordes of savage naked humans; as a teenager, he accidentally wanders into an elevator to the higher levels, and ends up making contact with civilization. He learns that the underground cities were originally built as shelters before a nuclear war, but the lower levels were cut off decades ago due to a plague and are now inhabited by savages. The protagonist is sent to live on the surface, where villagers live just as they did in the twentieth century; there follows a lot of satire on the contemporary society and school system.