mind, and Thomas orders the ship hermetically sealed and people stationed on the bridge in short rotations. Despite this, the crew suffers from mild radiation sickness, and their passage through the dense fallout becomes so trying psychologically that many crew vanish overboard. Things become even bleaker when they lose contact with the Soviet submarine, assuming she, with the nuclear fuel, was lost while scouting the Soviet coastline. Nathan James eventually reaches the remote South Pacific and, with the ship's nuclear fuel nearly gone, discovers a small, uncontaminated island in French Polynesia. The ship's crew establishes a community on the island, and they begin to try to conceive children to continue civilization. An archival project is started, wherein everyone is encouraged to write out their knowledge for future generations. They work out a system to allow genetic diversity with anonymous fatherhood, with the women always in strict control. However, no pregnancies occur. They worry that the radiation of the nuclear winter may have rendered everyone sterile. Some time later, the Pushkin appears on the horizon. Its crew is on the verge of starvation but bears an abundance of nuclear fuel. Nathan James is at last free to sail again, keeping the island as its home base. They even believe the Soviet submariners, who may have been free of contamination due to being submerged, can take their place in the genetic pool. But then a new disaster strikes: a group of the ship's sailors, abhorring the remaining nuclear missiles aboard the ship, launches them without Thomas' permission. One of the missiles accidentally detonates while in flight, triggering a chain reaction among all of the other missiles, destroying Nathan James and contaminating the island. Thomas, his remaining crew, and the Soviet crew immediately embark aboard the Pushkin to escape, beginning a new search for another sanctuary. They eventually reach the U.S. research facility at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, which is abandoned but contains years' worth of food and supplies. The Pushkin is modified during the escape to McMurdo Station by jettisoning its nuclear missiles into the ocean, so they can use the freed space in the silos for living space and a nursery. The introduction of the Soviet crew into the U.S. breeding program has resulted in at least three pregnancies. The Pushkin has the fuel and food from McMurdo to conduct long, thorough explorations of the world. Now well-provisioned, the survivors prepare