Choosing the Stone

She claims she is Themis, the mythological titaness of justice and first oracle of Delphi. The five guests staying at Hyperborea have to decide if they believe her.

The guests heard about Hyperborea from friends: Write to Clea saying you want to visit. If you get an invitation, go. It's an amazing place. Remote wilderness with hot springs! And it's free! When pressed for details, the friends said the hosts keep a low profile and asked them just to pass along the post office box and not say anything more.

They had misgivings. Why all the mystery? How remote? But the opportunity to escape from the dystopia of mid-21st century One America and a world on the verge of environmental collapse was too enticing to turn down.

Hyperborea exceeds their expectations. They are entranced by the incredible natural beauty of the place. Their hosts, Clea and Triptolemos, leave them alone to spend the day doing whatever they want.

Just as they are settling into the pleasant vacation in paradise they had dreamed of, they meet the third host, a woman whose voice seems to have supernatural power. She tells them about a premonition that she has had since childhood and explains the alarming reason they were invited.

The five guests are suddenly confronted with metaphysical notions of consciousness and time that seem impossible. They are forced to examine fundamental beliefs about their identity and their relationship to nature and to each other, and each of them has to make a life or death decision based solely on a leap of faith.