Endymion

It is 274 years after the Fall and the universe is in chaos. The WorldWeb, that interlinking of hundreds of human worlds via instantaneous farcaster portals, has been destroyed, and the separated worlds have reverted to nation-states, kingdoms, tribes, and clans. Into the vacuum of power left by the former Hegemony has stepped the Catholic Church and its civil/military wing, the Pax. Offering teachings of love, nonviolence, and the promise of literal immortality, the Church has only one threat to its undisputed reign: an eleven-year-old girl named Aenea.Raul Endymion, onetime shepherd and convicted murderer, is chosen as a pawn in a cosmic game whose outcome will determine the fate of humanity. Selected as a bodyguard to the next messiah, Endymion will cross time, space, and the very fabric of reality - first as protector to the child, then as lover to the woman, and finally as her devoted disciple. Meanwhile, the formidable and mysterious Shrike - part monster, part killing machine, part avenging angel - has also followed the girl's pilgrimage to the 32nd century as both stalker and protector.

Author: Dan Simmons 

Publisher: Bantam

Released Date: 1995

ISBN: 0553100203