Chapter 1

2025: It's been five years since the conflict between Geosynch Electric, Inc. and the United States took center stage. The world's attention is riveted on the conflict as nations, industries, and governments make their alliances and oppositions known.

The stakes are doubled when the alien artifact known as "Big Nicky" is discovered orbiting a moon of Jupiter. The industrialists of Promo-3 intend to recover it, but the nuclear-powered USAF space ship William C.Perry is being rerouted to a new discovery out past Neptune: The mile-wide spheres of the Blockade.

And the spheres are making their own plans for humanity . . .