Russ Zinser

In the Balance Russ Zinser

After graduating with honors from medical school, Steve and Diana Coulter live a fairy-tale life. But the illusion of their perfect life is shattered when Diana learns she has developed an inoperable tumor, and all too quickly Steve becomes a grieving young widower. Guided by DianaÊs strong spirit, he leaves the practice of medicine to become a celebrated talk show host. Steve, a passionate advocate for change at every level of government, soon becomes a nuisance to the White House. He suspects that the president would do anything to silence him or make him simply disappear. Then an experience beyond SteveÊs imagination soon provides him with a unique opportunity to help his planet. The president of the United States is contacted by the inhabitants of the distant planet of Centor and learns the Centorians will invite just three humans to a meeting that could change the course of human history. The information promised by the Centorians may lead humanity to a new level of enlightenment. To her chagrin, however, the president is confounded when one of those invited is Steve Coulter. Later, on his trip into space, Steve wakes from what seems to be a dream, alone in a sterile room that is seven trillion miles from home. Now a guest of the Centorians, a race of hyperintelligent extraterrestrials, Steve and his two companions learn much from their alien hosts; but they struggle to comprehend the experience and the opportunity set before them. Upon returning from this unprecedented, yet exciting, encounter, Steve must decide what he will do with this new information. Will he continue on with his previous life or try to convince the leaders of the world to follow the advice of the Centorians?