In the wake of unexpected meteor activity, a wave of inexplicable madness sweeps the already strange and ill-charted world of Venus. Racing to locate the source of the disturbance, Lundy and his team from Tri-World Police, Special Branch quickly find that locating the problem isn't half so tough as transporting IT back to headquarters. Out of his depth metaphysically and quickly sinking into the black pit of a Venusian sea, Lundy is about to discover his own profound reserves of strength and pit them against that which lurks behind a veneer of beauty-- the Unknown.
The Markovian Nucleus was once an existential threat to the council worlds, but then, in the space of only 70-80 years, their culture completely changed. They became model galactic citizens and everyone was too relieved to question their good fortune. Now, Doctoral Candidate Cameron Wilder and his new bride, Joyce Wilder, are on the case. What actually happened to the Markovians?
Curious to see how the world was imagined to be 50 years from now? Harting, under the pseudonym Dr. Dioscorides, originally published his steampunk utopian novelette in 1865 under the title Anno 2065, but soon had to publish new editions because of all the changes happening at the time. This is the English translation of that edition, published in 1871, and naturally titled "Anno Domini 2071". It isn't free from racial defamation, but it does contain some radical ideas for its time, like the Suffragette movement, the Darwinian Evolution model, and many creatively imagined inventions!