After a forty-year space mission, an astronaut-osteopath named Dr. Hood returns to Earth with his companion Kelly and two other colleagues. Their homecoming quickly turns perilous when human bounty hunters circle the wreckage of Portland, Oregon and seize the rescue party near the city ruins. One member of the team is killed after a sprain, a wound Dr. Hood argues would have healed on its own in a few days. Taken away to a remote work camp, the group discovers that the camp is controlled not by their own kind, but by giant termite-like aliens who arrived two decades earlier to feast on wood and — with the help of EMP weapons — crippled Earth before launching a full invasion.
Inside the camp, the human overseers appear comparatively humane, yet the atmosphere is brutal and dehumanizing. The aliens’ approach has pushed some humans into illiteracy and savagery, and the few who resist are punished harshly. Despite the grim conditions, Hood and Kelly observe enough to realize that escape is possible, especially after rumor spreads that the President has somehow survived the catastrophe and is assembling a resistance. The two rebels begin to devise a plan to slip away to join any scattered pockets of human resistance and to seek out a chance to strike back.
When the escape attempt finally unfolds, it succeeds on the surface but fails to keep Kelly free, and she is recaptured. Hood refuses to abandon the mission, pushing onward to find a beacon of organized human resistance. His search leads him to a hidden network of survivors who insist the President remains alive and able to rally a counterattack. Moving with a convoy of like-minded fighters, Hood reaches a clandestine headquarters that holds the remnants of the American government and the figurehead they still cling to: the President, who has been diminished by catastrophe and war yet remains a symbol of national resolve.
The sight of the President’s hollow state steels Hood’s resolve into action. He decides to mobilize the escaped slaves and deserters, turning their disillusionment into a coordinated assault on the alien stronghold. The plan is risky and bold: a direct strike against the termite camp to disrupt the alien operation and rescue those still held in chains. Kelly, bearing the scars of punishment for a failed escape, re-enters the fray, contributing to the revolt and proving that resilience can bend the odds in battle.
As the initial assault kicks into high gear, the odds tilt back and forth. The bugs unleash heavy artillery, and hope wavers as the camp’s defenses push back. Yet the President’s faction arrives just in time, mounting a surprise push that targets the armored tanks and turns the battlefield in humanity’s favor. With renewed courage, the enslaved workers rally to the cause, and a full-scale rebellion begins to take shape. By joining forces with Hood’s growing coalition, they begin to push back the invaders and reclaim the camps one by one, driving the alien threat from occupied ground.
What follows is a sustained campaign to extinguish the bug threat and recruit new followers from every corner of the resistance. The movement expands beyond a single revolt, transforming into a broader effort to push back against the invaders and reclaim Earth’s shattered future. Through leadership, tenacity, and a willingness to sacrifice, Hood’s forces begin to gain the upper hand, carving out a path toward long-term resistance and eventual liberation.
> In time he (Dr. Hood) became known as The Great Exterminator.
