CV Series by Damon Knight, Elisabetta MOREOLO-SVALUTO

The Sea Venture, CV for short, is the largest ocean-going vessel ever built; not a ship, but a prototype sea habitat. On board CV is a small city of permanent inhabitants, a scientific research station studying the ocean floor, the crew, and about a thousand paying passengers—Sea Venture is a microcosm of the world.Dr. Wallace McNulty expects his job as CV’s chief medical officer to be an easy berth. For Emily and Jim Woodruff, CV may be their new home... moreThe Sea Venture, CV for short, is the largest ocean-going vessel ever built; not a ship, but a prototype sea habitat. On board CV is a small city of permanent inhabitants, a scientific research station studying the ocean floor, the crew, and about a thousand paying passengers—Sea Venture is a microcosm of the world.Dr. Wallace McNulty expects his job as CV’s chief medical officer to be an easy berth. For Emily and Jim Woodruff, CV may be their new home. Paul Newland is aboard to discover whether CV really is a threat to his dream of orbital space colonies; and for the man hired to assassinate Newland, CV is a challenge to his skill at the hunt.But there is one more thing aboard Sea Venture. It is not human; it is not even of Earthly origin. It is sweeping like a firestorm through the passengers and crew, leaving hundreds of men and women collapsed into coma. It spreads like no epidemic Dr. McNulty has ever heard of—moving from one person to another, one at a time, almost as if it were not a disease and all, but an intelligence…And of what importance are the hopes and dreams, fears and schemes of the people of Sea Venture when they are threatened by a force that could destroy all of human civilization? less

Everyone believed that the mysterious plague which surfaced on board the huge oceangoing habitat Sea Venture had been stopped dead in the middle of the ocean. Nobody reckoned with Julie Prescott's unborn baby —nobody even thought about whether pregnant women could bring the parasite back to shore. Julie herself didn't reckon with what kind of man she'd fallen in love with. John Stevens wasn't your average guy, despite how he seemed. In fact, he was a highly-skilled assassin... moreEveryone believed that the mysterious plague which surfaced on board the huge oceangoing habitat Sea Venture had been stopped dead in the middle of the ocean. Nobody reckoned with Julie Prescott's unborn baby —nobody even thought about whether pregnant women could bring the parasite back to shore. Julie herself didn't reckon with what kind of man she'd fallen in love with. John Stevens wasn't your average guy, despite how he seemed. In fact, he was a highly-skilled assassin. McNulty's disease, as the alien plague came to be called, changed his life and his values —but didn't take away any of his skills. When McNulty's symptoms started showing up in the population on land, panic ensued. Though McNulty's was not fatal, and recovering patients showed no ill effects, scientific and popular opinion feared that too little was known and the disease must be curbed at all cost. A concentration camp of all McNulty's survivors would be set up —and where better than on the Sea Venture itself? But John Stevens wasn't the kind of man to let his family be imprisoned... In The Observers, Damon Knight has skillfully combined a gripping tale of suspense with a thoughtful examination of contemporary social values. less

Plague...or paradise? 2005 A.D. Six years have passed since the alien Symbionts invaded Sea Venture, Earth's largest ocean habitat. Now, despite the government's best attempts at quarantine, the Symbionts have spread all over the planet, infecting the bodies of both humans and animals - and slowly, subtly forcing mankind in new directions. Once possessed by the Symbionts, men and women become smarter, wiser - or else they die. War and violence are punished by instant execution from within... morePlague...or paradise? 2005 A.D. Six years have passed since the alien Symbionts invaded Sea Venture, Earth's largest ocean habitat. Now, despite the government's best attempts at quarantine, the Symbionts have spread all over the planet, infecting the bodies of both humans and animals - and slowly, subtly forcing mankind in new directions. Once possessed by the Symbionts, men and women become smarter, wiser - or else they die. War and violence are punished by instant execution from within. A new era dawns, but there are those who would turn back the millennium, who will stop at nothing to prevent...A Reasonable World. less