Wizards

Donald Tyson answered an improbable ad. Now, he's a wizard, and sells magic over the counter like toothpaste, providing invulnerability and perfect health at reasonable cost. Business is brisk, as you might imagine. But who will buy a car when a magic carpet is cheap and doesn't need fueling? Who needs doctors or hospitals when no one ever gets sick, or hurt? Soon, half the world is unemployed. That's bad. But soon, too, dictatorships will vanish, and that's good. How do you oppress people who can't be hurt, and who can jump on their flying carpet and cross oceans at will?

Miles Grant, Presidential Science Advisor doesn't believe in magic. As far as he's concerned it's all a plot to conquer the Earth. As more amulets are introduced, and replace technology, that technology will be lost, leaving the Earth defenseless when, and if, the amulets are turned off. For Miles it's a race to save humanity.

But who could guess that the future of humanity depends on a single question, one that Donald Tyson, alone, must answer?