"Take cover " Nix yelled. "Leave your tools. Double time." The crew filed past Nix as she swayed from side to side in the powerful wind, her feet rooted to the ground, she shoved each of their shoulders as they passed by her on their way toward the house. Raindrops bombarded the dried ground, bounced ten centimeters off the thirsty earth of the open space, which quickly became a muddy slick covered with matted, limp grass. For a moment, Nix froze as she looked up into the sky and felt the sting of drops pelt her face, gouge at her eyes and lips. It was the kind of torrent that could carve stone if it persisted long enough. She shook her head to clear the water from her eyes, swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, but she could barely see. In this...exotic - yet besieged- planet called Earth, Nix, a renowned sculpture of colossal marble masterpieces, now in the later years of her illustrious career, has isolated herself in the wilderness of northern California, in order to devote herself to her art and her long time companion, Zephyr. When a group of off-world born humans, led by Commander Torrance Whitney, deliver a 340 ton gift of Carrera marble to Nix's front yard, more than the Earth is shaken. From the moment they breathe the humid air, the space crew find their senses overwhelmed by the beauty of Earth. Like Odysseus' men in the land of the lotus eaters, they grow hostile at the thought of ever leaving such a paradise of the senses.