Nearly three months have passed since the plague of death had wiped out most of the world's population. The exact numbers, of course, could not be calculated, since there was no one left to work the computers or maintain the databanks. Even so, most computers were rendered inoperable due to mass power failures, and those still capable of using their mental facilities realized long ago that such responsibilities no longer mattered in the great scheme of things. Survival had taken precedence, and the phrase "survival of the fittest," trampled years ago and left in the cloud of indifference generated by the mass chaos of modern technology and sophisticated living, had returned triumphantly, bringing with it a primordial behavior that had been hidden for decades.