Prologue

It was the worst of times.

Twice in twenty years, nuclear war had engulfed large regions of the planet. A mile-wide asteroid struck the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, fracturing the Earth’s mantle, and creating massive earthquakes that killed tens of thousands. Mountain-like tsunami submerged hundreds of Pacific islands, stripped the coastal regions of four continents to bare stone and steel, and left the ocean’s eco-system uninhabitable. The fractured mantle ignited eruptions throughout the “Ring of Fire,” and volcanoes spewed ash and poisonous fumes into the atmosphere.

And now, a demonic homicidal madness has left one third of the world’s remaining population dead — brutally murdered by their own family members.

Truly, it was the worst of times.

Never before had the world been so ready, so eager for a savior.

And all of it was premeditated 2000 years before.

• 
•