It is early May, 1993. The Earth is still reeling from the near-simultaneous invasion of half-a-dozen alien realities when it suddenly becomes apparent that the worst is yet to come. Astronomers are the first to detect it, but it rapidly becomes obvious: the Earth's rotation is slowing down. Soon the Earth will hang motionless, with half the surface baking forever in the sun, and the other half frozen in the dark.
No one knows who or what is responsible, though it's fairly easy to guess that it's part of the invasion. But which of the invaders could be behind it? Nearly everyone seems to be suffering.
Somewhere on the fringes of invasion of New York by the Living Land, a young woman named Susan Weissman is struck by lightning. In the emergency room, she suddenly wakes up as Isa of House Tharend. Thrust into a strange new world, she is surprised to discover a suit of armor and sword waiting for her at Susan Weissman's apartment, along with a note from a certain Ambrose.
Meanwhile, in the newly formed Nile Empire, a one-time hero named Mike Robinson has finally had enough of subservience to Dr. Mobius . He resumes his identity as Black Lightning and comes home to America.
Mike and Isa meet when they accompany a mission of mercy into the Living Land, trying to get food and medicine to those people trying to survive there. They are guards, protecting the truck driven by Alexandra Chang. After they have delivered the supplies and are trying to leave to get more, the truck gets a flat tire. As they are repairing it, a frantic young woman, Hildy Marlen, runs up to them, pursued by a horde of edeinos. Our heroes win the battle with the assistance of H'hodaraak Phaa, an edeinos who does not follow Baruk Kaah.
The group learns that Hildy's father is being held captive by soliders from the Nile Empire, encamped nearby. Proceeding there, they defeat a squad of shocktroopers led by Professor Sharif and stationed around a gigantic Digging Machine. From Sharif and his notes, they learn that an important deal, somehow involving the stopped rotation of the Earth is to take place soon. They pose as Sharif and his men, pretending to hand over many rifles in exchange for, oddly enough, a Faberge egg. The deal goes sour, though, and the group has to fight off a large group of edeinos while they escape in the Digging Machine.
The Digging Machine is programmed to return to its base in the Nile Empire. When they arrive, they try to sneak about to find out what's going on and how they can get out of the military base they're in, but are spotted and a huge melee erupts. Surprisingly, Grimbeard, a dwarven friend of Isa, appears and helps them fight their way to a seaplane that was waiting for Sharif's return. AFter a brief fight against pursuing fighters, they find a map and a curious set of equipment on board. Still trying to figure out what this has to do with the Earth's spin, they decide to follow the course on the map.
The spot on the map turns out to be in the middle of the ocean, but is easily identified due to an odd whirlpool like disturbance on the surface. Landing the seaplane, the group is attacked by a giant shark. Defeating it, they are attacked by a giant octopus. Defeating that, they are face with a demonic being. Putting together clues from Sharif's journal, they offer the demon the Faberge egg in return for safe passage. The deal accepted, they don the diving suits they found in the plain and descend.
On the ocean floor, they find a huge, hideous machine, that seems to defy all logic and science. As they puzzle over it, they are attacked by a horde of skeletons emerging from a nearby shipwreck. Phaa and Isa hold off the skeletons while Mike figures out the machine. Although the battle is long and hard, Mike finally reverses the machine's operation, returning the Earth's stolen rotational energy, starting the world turning again.
Last Modified: 29 May, 1997