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spacekase
July 4th, 2007, 12:08 PM
These memory problems drive me nutz, especially with obscure books. :D

The story takes place on an alternate earth serving as a kind of a purgatory for the human race. Because of ecological destruction humans banished themselves to a parallel world on the other side of a dimensional gateway (or something like that.) The parallel earth has no green anywhere, it is flat and grey and has little water. Humans survive by strip mining the coal (or whatever) on the surface. They have lived there so long that they have used about half of all the available stuff on the surface and after that they will probably just starve in the dark; however, no one wants to think about that.

The protagonist, who works for the highway building department and sees the bleak future, notices a green neon sign for the Green Earth Society and investigates. Despite the authorities trying to shut down the society and warning him away from such dangerous dreaming (his old gf was apparently a secret agent for the authorities) he hooks up with the society, meets the Obligatory Beautiful Girl and escapes through the Sekrit Gateway with his new friends after a dangerous chase to the now restored original Earth.

Anybody have any ideas?

JunkMonkey
July 18th, 2007, 12:43 PM
These memory problems drive me nutz, especially with obscure books. :D

The story takes place on an alternate earth serving as a kind of a purgatory for the human race.

Why did the name Fred Pohl immediately spring to my mind?

spacekase
July 21st, 2007, 08:47 PM
I dunno, possibly because he wrote it, but I can't find a book of that description by him.

JunkMonkey
July 22nd, 2007, 04:15 AM
I dunno, possibly because he wrote it, but I can't find a book of that description by him.

I wasn't being sarcastic. It was just as I read your description his name sprang into my mind. I've since looked for it amongst his books as well and drawn a blank too.

Weird things memories.