Empire of the Atom is a 1957 science fiction book set in 12,000 A.D. with a culture which makes gods of Uranium, Plutonium, Radium and Ecks and has temple scientists (Atom Priests) to guard them. The birth of a mutant, Clane, to the ruling family after accidental exposure to radiation in the Atom Temples is attended by a crisis and the child, allowed to live in seclusion with the education of an Atom Priest develops into a supernormal. He is responsible for Martian and Venusian victories, salvages the empire after a barbarian invasion and is ready to protect the sol system against a possible attack from beyond our solar system.