Ill. on endpapers.

In ancient times, a Golden Capstone was placed atop the Great Pyramid at Giza during a rare solar event called the Tartarus Rotation. Once every 4,500 years, a superhot sunspot -- the Tartarus Sunspot -- aligned itself with Earth and caused immense worldwide flooding and sun-scorching. It is said that when the Capstone sat atop the Great Pyramid, no such flooding or solar damage occurred. And, according to legend, whosoever places the Capstone on the pyramid at the next Tartarus Rotation will gain absolute power over Earth for the next 1,000 years. In 2006, the Tartarus Rotation will come again, but the Capstone is nowhere to be found.