A monstrous vehicle called the Oasis moves inexorably across the wasteland; a human hive symbolizing sanctuary, it dispenses a treatment for an apocalyptic plague of madness that has destroyed the land. After Kem's father trades him to the Oasis for a new engine, he begins a new life as a galley slave on this earthbound generational ship lumbering across a post-holocaust America.

1992 Philip K. Dick Award