In his first novel, Thoughts of God, Michael Kanaly created a metaphysical saga of murder that moved from the mean streets of modem-day America to the very notebook of God -- in which earthly justice meets cosmic vengeance.<P>Now this stunningly original writer once again probes the farthest reaches of the universe--and the human experience. It is the story of a research scientist on the verge of an extraordinary discovery: certain viruses are no longer acting in a random way. In fact, they seem to be intelligently planning where and how to multiply. And intertwined in this powerful drama is the story of the virus clans themselves, spanning millions of years as they evolve and make their own extraordinary discovery: to be the perfect hosts, human beings will have to be changed.