Synthetic Reality

Iron Core Monks

Seven dead cops and a kid who didn't deserve it, then I ditched the hijacked jumper on the edge of the sector. I'd be safe if I could get on the other side of the steel door. It was hardly noticeable on the epic wall of rock.

The miner backed up to the asteroid and clamped onto the entry point. Greedy eyes sparkled above his anxious smile. I handed him my turbo blaster; a military-grade weapon easily worth twice the price of his little ship.

I'd be unarmed from here on out.

Through the airlock, I pulled the door behind me. The miner's craft detached, drifted away, and in a moment was gone. Only stars and asteroids remained out the small window as it slowly closed and left me in a dark tunnel.

Flickering lights led me down a thousand-year-old shaft to an enormous hollow cavern with an ecosystem inside. It took a half-hour to walk to the entrance. A great iron door sealed the entire tunnel.

In a small alcove stood a sentry robot. The rudimentary tinman rusted by long-term exposure came to life as I approached. Its red scanner beam passed over my face and I closed my eyes.

"What is the purpose of your visit to the Iron Core?" the robot asked.

"I need somewhere to lay low for a while."

"Are you seeking asylum?"

"Yeah."

"Are you wanted by the authorities?"

"Not exactly."

The robot tilted its head, implying I should provide it with further information.

"They think I'm dead."

"If discovered, would you pose a threat to this outpost?"

"Nah, I'd leave before any trouble started. I wasn't followed."

"What is the identity you are traveling under?"

"Michael Diamond."

"Very low key, indeed." A robot with a sense of humor. "You are granted an asylum interview. Please take the first lift, then follow the road to the monastery."

The iron door groaned open.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure. Entry can be disorienting. Please breathe slowly."

I walked through to a bank of freight elevators. I took the first big empty lift and its door closed behind me. It connected to a surface that crossed the cavern and spun at incredible speed. I was sucked to the wall like a magnet.

The simulated G-force was nauseating. I counted fifty rotations before I forgot where I was, nearly got sick, and finally started to stabilize. The lift moved out to the furthest end of the surface. I hung there for a while, standing in the center of the elevator as everything gradually came to a stop. The door opened and the enormity of the inner cylinder lay before me.

Everything appeared stationary, though intellectually I knew I was inside a colossal rotating tube that created gravity through centrifugal force. The robot was right about it being disorienting. I took long slow breaths.

An extensive valley stretched out into the distance. At the far end, I could make out a mountain range in the mist. There was blue-ish sky above, but the color was off and its artificiality somewhat killed the fantasy. Soft clouds hung over a lake. The structure was big enough to produce gentle weather conditions.

On the far side of the lake surrounded by rice paddies was a whitewashed fortress-monastery. The simply constructed multi-floor dwelling had a single entrance atop a large flight of stairs. I set off down the path.