“The Penis is evil! The Penis shoots Seeds, and makes new Life to poison the Earth with a plague of men, as once it was. But the Gun shoots Death and purifies the Earth of the filth of Brutals. Go forth, and kill! Zardoz has spoken.” These are the teachings of Zardoz, the flying stone idol worshipped as a god by the barbaric Brutals surviving in the post-atomic wastelands of the late 23rd century. The most dedicated followers of Zardoz are the Brutal Exterminators, who execute his will with the weapons provided to them in exchange for food grown by the Brutals. 

One of these Exterminators is Zed, known for his unique fashion sense. Being more curious and audacious than the average Brutal, Zed manages to hide aboard the floating godhead and violently disposes of its operator. This does not stop Zardoz from returning to the Vortex on autopilot, where Zed is vanquished with psychic powers by the Eternals. These aloof denizens of the Vortex mainly fill their time by stewarding humanity’s knowledge and being bored to death. Not in a literal sense, though; their immortality does not allow it. This protection from death is gifted to the Eternals by the Tabernacle, the artificial intelligence also responsible for keeping the Vortex safe from the savages. Zed’s arrival upsets the status quo quite a bit, not in the least because of his unexpected intelligence and willingness to take drastic actions. -Nanne

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