An unnamed surveyor from Boston, telling the story in the first-person perspective, attempts to uncover the secrets behind a shunned place referred to by the locals of Arkham as the "blasted heath."

(Source: Wikipedia)

The story (which is based on the diaries of its protagonist) is set in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft's hometown and a favorite locale for his fiction. The protagonist, Robert Blake—a young man with an interest in the occult—becomes fascinated by a large disused church set on Federal Hill in Providence's west—the Italian and migrant quarter—which he can see from his lodgings in Providence's Upper East side. His researches reveal that the church has a sinister history involving a cult called the Church of Starry Wisdom and is dreaded by the local inhabitants as being haunted by a primeval evil.

(Source: Wikipedia)

In 205X, armed forces and conflicts are a thing of the past and people live safe, peaceful lives, all thanks to a cheap, inexhaustible source of energy. One day, something strange is discovered on the moon: an ancient corpse in a spacesuit. The corpse is undeniably human, but it appears to be about 50,000 years old! What does this mean about the history of our species and what effect will this discovery have on current human society?

Midway through the 21st century, an integrated global computer network manages much of the world's affairs. A proposed major software upgrade - an artificial intelligence - will give the system an unprecedented degree of independent decision-making, but serious questions are raised in regard to how much control can safely be given to a non-human intelligence. In order to more fully assess the system, a new space-station habitat - a world in miniature - is developed for deployment of the fully operational system, named Spartacus. This mini-world can then be "attacked" in a series of escalating tests to assess the system's responses and capabilities. If Spartacus gets out of hand, the system can be shut down and the station destroyed... unless Spartacus decides to take matters into its own hands and take the fight to Earth.