who is currently hiding in a South Indian coastal village. While Lisa is sent into space to investigate an asteroid, Thomas Lull runs into Aj, a girl with mysterious powers that allow her to see into people's lives, pasts and futures. He decides to follow her and protect her during her quest to find her own true identity, but it is soon revealed that Aj's powers extend beyond mere mortals, when she brings a robot army to a halt with the raise of a hand. Tal is a beautiful nute (of neutral gender) involved in the designing team of India's greatest "soapi", Town & Country, some of the main stars of which are not human actors, but aeais. Tal falls prey to a conspiracy that compromises the career of Shaheen Badoor Khan, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Sajida Rana, leading to her assassination and the fall of the government. All this leads to riots and popular fury against Muslims and transsexuals across Varanasi. Lisa Durnau discovers that at the center of the mysterious asteroid is an 8-billion-year-old grey sphere, possibly a black hole remnant, or an alien artifact from another civilization. This "Tabernacle" communicates a message to the scientists, and this leads Lisa to India to find Thomas Lull, who alone can explain this phenomenon. Explanation of title The title refers to the sacred Ganges River, which is analogous to the unceasing flow of time in Hindu mythology. Characters visit the river during the novel, and a large portion of the action takes place in the holy city of Varanasi, which is traditionally associated with the Ganges, and is the focal point in the story. Main characters Mr. Nandha is a Krishna Cop whose job it is to excommunicate rogue aeais. Parvati is his wife, a country girl who tries to cope with boredom at home and the class dynamics of the big city. Vishram Ray is an aspiring stand-up comedian who finds himself controlling the energy giant Ray Power, after his father's sudden retirement into sanyas. Tal is a genderless nute working as a set designer for India's most ubiquitous tivi soapi - Town & Country, watched by millions. Shaheen Badoor Khan is a powerful civil servant, and direct secretary to the Prime Minister, Sajida Rana. Shiv and Yogendra are small-time hoodlums caught up in the larger flow of events. Najia Askarzadah is a Swedish-Afghan reporter who ambitiously