  Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of
spatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants'' in the Universe.
Detection of high redshift absorption systems intersecting the sight lines
towards distant quasars provide a powerful tool for measuring these variations.
In the present paper we demonstrate that high sensitivity to variation of the
fine structure constant alpha can be obtained by comparing cosmic and
laboratory spectra of the Ni II ion. Relativistic effects in Ni II reveal many
interesting features. The Ni II spectrum exhibits avoided level crossing
phenomenon under variation of alpha and the intervals between the levels have
strong nonlinear dependencies on relativistic corrections. The values of the
transition frequency shifts, due to the change of alpha, vary significantly
from state to state including change of the sign. This enhances the sensitivity
to the variation of alpha and reduces possible systematic errors. The
calculations of alpha-dependence of the nickel ion spectral lines that are
detectable in quasar absorption spectra have been performed using a
relativistic configuration interaction method.
