Preview of V. Summary:

The two major themes of V. are the tendency of twentieth-century society toward entropy (dissolution) on the one hand and conspiracy (control) on the other. Entropy, the unraveling of the universe through the equalization of energy, is sometimes assisted by the impact of conspiracy, as world powers dice and maneuver to gain control of resources and lines of communication.

The book begins in Norfolk, Virginia on Christmas Eve, 1955 and initially concerns certain crew members of a U.S. Navy ship back from the Mediter ranean. The United States's presence in the Mediterranean is dictated by its interest in the oil resources of the Middle East and the short cut to those riches, the Suez Canal. In the first of several lengthy flashbacks, the reader is returned to late-nineteenth-century Egypt for a glimpse of the espionage activities of the agents of Britain, France, and some who are just available...