There’s a huge, bold black streak in the sky. Branches appear out of nowhere over North America, Southern European countries, and Central Africa. People who live beneath The Rift can easily see it. But researchers world-wide are distressed-their equipment cannot grab any kind of signal from it. The rift seems to consist of nothing at all. Literally. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Most people are wondering but not excessively concerned. The phenomenon seems to pose no danger. It is just there.

After that something jolts one of the most hardened naysayers, and surpasses the most severe nightmares of the world’s greatest scientists-and rocks their understanding of the universe.