The Postman

In this gripping tale, a post-apocalyptic landscape serves as the backdrop for an exploration of civilization and its symbolic significance. The narrative is divided into three distinct sections, each centered on a unique emblem of human society's resilience.

The first installment focuses on Gordon Krantz, a wandering performer who takes refuge in a postal uniform after losing almost everything to marauders. With a background in drama from the University of Minnesota, he embarks on a westward journey to Oregon, where he finds solace in a long-abandoned postal van and a cache of mail. As he traverses the ravaged terrain, Krantz dons the uniform and delivers the mail to nearby communities, trading in performances of Shakespearean scenes for sustenance and shelter. His initial claims to being an actual postman are not motivated by deceit, but rather by the desperate need for people to believe in him as a symbol of hope and continuity.

In the second section, Krantz stumbles upon the community of Corvallis, Oregon, led by Cyclops - a sentient artificial intelligence created at Oregon State University that miraculously survived the cataclysm. However, this "intelligence" is merely a facade, maintained by a group of scientists to keep alive the flickering flame of knowledge and order. The scientists pretend to receive guidance from Cyclops, using its supposed wisdom to solicit food donations from citizens, much like the ancient Delphi Oracle.

As Krantz joins forces with Cyclops' caretakers in their battle against the hypersurvivalist militia, he begins to realize that these fanatical groups are being pushed by Nathan Holn's followers - an author who championed a violent, misogynistic, and militaristic ideology. This movement, led by the infamous Holnists, was spawned from the Rogue River area of Oregon and spread southward, thwarting any attempts at rebuilding and recovery in the aftermath of the war and plagues that ravaged the United States.

As the narrative reaches its fervent crescendo, the Postman forges a crucial alliance with a stalwart tribe born from the confluence of ranchers, loggers, and Native Americans from Oregon's Umpqua Valley. Led by a Native American veteran of an airborne regiment, this tribe has evolved a warrior ethos reminiscent of the Old West, fueled by a deep-seated animosity towards the Holnists. Though they have consistently repelled the Holnists' incursions, they had remained indifferent to the plight of the Willamette Valley's townsfolk until the Postman's arrival. The tribe's reluctance to intervene stems from their perception of the townspeople as weak and vulnerable.

As the Postman delves deeper into the mysteries of this post-apocalyptic world, he uncovers a disturbing truth: it was not the electromagnetic pulses, urban devastation, or bio-engineered plagues that ultimately toppled society. Rather, it was the Holnists' ruthless exploitation of humanitarian workers and their brutal attacks on communities during these desperate times. This realization serves as a stark reminder of the true nature of this dystopian world, where survival depends on the delicate balance of power and the capacity for violence.

The novel's climax hints at the possibility of an unlikely alliance forming between the Postman's tribe and other groups, symbolized by their respective flags – the Bear Flag, a potent emblem of resistance against the Holnists. The final scenes of the narrative tantalize with the prospect of a renewed effort to rebuild civilization, as disparate factions begin to coalesce in response to the Holnists' menace.