One of the most powerful artifacts in the world today…and also one of the most useless.

The Book of Mars looks like a diary. There is a name scrawled on the first page — Professor Marcus Brand — and a partial date: May, 1912. These are in black ink, using a fountain pen.

The next page begins the text:

“The extraordinary circumstances that have resulted in my companions and myself being transported to the planet Mars will be described later. For now, however, I must set down my initial impressions of this entirely new world, while they are fresh in my mind.”

The next few pages describe an arid climate, grasses, trees, and small animals. There are also line drawings of a small winged lizard and an unusual flower. Then the text breaks off, and the rest of the book is blank. Professor Brand’s companions are not described or named, but one reference indicates that there are at least three.

Anyone who wishes to do so may write in the book, but will find himself unable to add anything that is inconsistent with what came before. For instance, you could make up the names of the companions, but could not state that there were only two. New animals and plants, the presence or absence of intelligent life, level of civilization, and perhaps some backstory on the trip to Mars, can all be added, but the words will come out in Professor Brand’s style of writing, and will also be in his handwriting! Soon after new text is written, it will change into black ink.

Any attempt to cross out or destroy the existing text will fail; ink or paint on the pages will simply vanish. New text can be crossed out while its writer lives; once a writer dies, the new text will become permanent. Crossed-out text will fade from view, leaving the page blank.

So far, what is being described seems like a mere curiosity. But there is one nuance to the Book of Mars that makes it one of the most sought-after artifacts ever. How this became known is uncertain (some sources say that someone asked the Compte de Saint-Germaine), but it is generally believed that, once the book’s pages are all filled, the book will be “primed.”

Once “primed,” they say, the book can be taken to the actual Mars and dropped on the ground, whereupon the planet will be retroactively transformed to conform to the book. This will not only make Mars habitable, but will also cause several people from Earth to have been taken there in 1912. Depending on the book’s descriptions, this may utterly change Earth’s history from that year onwards. Certainly the information sent back by space probes will be altered, with potentially incalculable consequences.

Naturally, many cabals and dukes are desperate to get their hands on the Book of Mars. The Sleepers and TNI are particularly active in their search for it. Others, however, don’t understand the fuss. Sure, they say, the whole world could be altered by this book. But to use it, you have to transport it to Mars. And how likely is that?