3,500 A.D.—LET THE GAME BEGIN . . .Professor Peter Blackwood, a former Space Marine turned scientist, looks forward to retirement on a paradise resort planet.A powerful alien intelligence in the form of a vast red energy cloud cuts Blackwood's plans short, snatching him from the hyperspace highway, and catapulting him light years away to a remote planet in an unexplored region of space.With his ship damaged and unable to escape, Blackwood encounters a distant human colony on planet Enigma, a world controlled by the red cloud and populated by mortals and powerful overlords—immortal human beings with godlike powers.When Blackwood's desire to escape is replaced by his intense scientific curiosity, he becomes a player in a dangerous socio-political game designed by the red cloud. It's a game Blackwood cannot afford to lose—for on his shoulders rests the destiny of millions of people.