Martin Knox

The Grass is Always Browner Martin Knox

Australia has four times more land area than neighbouring Bhakaria, with only one tenth of the population. The author stretches forward the raw elements of Australian civilisation -territory, climate and resources - to 250 years in the future, relating them to the populations of the two nations. The scene is set in Meannjin, an almost deserted and flooded Australian city. Most of the population has dispersed to self-sufficient rural communes after a century of wars over coal and famine. They are governed locally with only a tiny national government, headed by an Aboriginal dynasty. Abajoe is Australia's Prime Minister. He has a rare genetic mutation for sharing. His Messianic vision is of devolved and diversified lifestyles, in a nation where science has priority over religion and politics. He predicts Australia's relationship with Bhakaria by experimenting with a genetically modified animal, the rossit. The political situation is tense, as Abajoe strives to renew a moribund political party from within. His ban on immigration is opposed by his lover in a tempestuous romance. His ban is also opposed by his political adversary, who gains government, outlaws his party and plans for free immigration. He leads a resistance movement against the government, which is aligned with Yamism, a religion, in an epic struggle with a dramatic climax.'