Conquest of Earth

Conquest of Earth, Manly Banister, Airmont Books, 1964

In this far-future novel, Earth has never known a time when it was not ruled by the benevolent Trisz. Earth is being turned into a desert, and its oceans are being sucked dry by the Trisz. It's only a matter of time before Earth becomes a dry, lifeless hunk of rock.

The Trisz allow only one planet-wide organization, the Scarlet Order of Men. People begin training as children, and only the best of the best become Men. Those who don't make it become Blue brethren, instructing the people how to be loyal members of society under the Trisz.

Kor Danay is a new member of the Scarlet Order. It's actually a very secret resistance organization. The Trisz can read minds, so absolute care and discretion is vital. Danay also has some unique mental powers, like the ability to temporarily stop time, and to teleport himself from place to place.

The Trisz Extrapolator knew that Danay would cause trouble, so he is arrested and condemned to death on less-than-clear charges. He escapes from an atomic disintegrator, so he and Soma, a woman he met along the way and is also part of the resistance, flee into the mountains. They join "the organization," in their series of deep underground caverns. After several months of being poked and prodded to try to learn just how his brain works, Danay nearly begs for something to do. He and Soma are sent to a faraway planet to check it out as a possible home for Earthlings after Earth officially dies. Everything is great, the planet looks to be perfect, until the Trisz show up.

This is an interesting story that belongs somewhere in that large gray area of pretty Good or Worth Reading.