Crown of Stars

A race of octopoid aliens visits earth to restore man's dying beliefs, with spaceships containing the very Gods themselves. In the future the rich are allowed a four week holiday - into their own futures. A soldier wounded at the front finds his memories too terrifying to live with once his government-approved drugs are withdrawn. A young girl is convinced that mother-earth is male and dedicates her life to consummating her love for him. God is dead and the Devil makes an offer for the real estate of heaven... These dark visions of the future by James Tiptree Jr. are a vivid, sometimes frightening foretelling of what may happen.