The Syndic--Syndic versus Mob! The Syndic operated as a sort of gigantic protective league in what had once been the states east of the Mississippi. Here was a totally hedonistic society. West of the Mississippi was Mob territory, a society whose entire system of values was opposed to the Syndic. Plague of Pythons--The pythons had made their prescience known to mankind. No man knew at what moment he might be possessed! Every man, woman and child lay in the grip of fear, for no one knew at what moment his nearest friend or a casual stranger might suddenly be possessed by some brutal mind ... and begin to murder and destroy. Wolfbane--The earth has forcibly been taken from its orbit. And now harsh generations have passed since the inhabitants last saw the light of their sun, Sol. Society has grown rigid. The meek lambs have inherited the earth, even if it's a very poor earth, indeed.