Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Four: Sixteen

Jay's jaw dropped as soon as she caught sight of the City of Steel. One could have easily called it impressive, but that would have been a severe understatement as far as Jay was concerned. All she could do was stare at the endless metal stretching out before her. 

There were too many buildings to be counted, all of them tall enough to pierce the sky. The city was mapped out in a perfect grid system, not a single hair out of place. The people navigating the space all had some sort of robotic enhancement, and they carried themselves with a sense of confidence that Jay hadn't seen in a long time. The sky glimmered orange around the tallest building in the City of Steel. 

Said building was a skyscraper with a notable spire that rested among the sky easily. A gentle orange light glimmered at its apex, flashing every few seconds. The air had the appearance of twilight despite it being close to the middle of the day, and a glass dome kept the city contained. The rest of the surrounding area was made of hot, scorching desert, but Jay didn't even feel the heat as she stared at the city. It was more than amazing enough to pull her attention away from the sweat starting to bead on the back of her neck. 

Arian was the first to move after the city came into view. "Damn," he murmured, breathing the word before taking a small step towards the glass dome ahead. The top of the glass disappeared in the sky along with the tops of the taller buildings, and it was difficult to say for sure how tall the space was. The City of Steel had been crafted meticulously by someone who knew exactly what they were doing, some genius who had far too much time on their hands. 

Jay followed Arian closer to the door of the glass dome. It blended in with the rest of the transparent material, and she could barely see the outline of the entrance among the glass. Once she was close enough, Jay pressed her hand against the surface, closing her eyes to take in the atmosphere. She realized that there wasn't a knob, and despite her pushing against the door, it wasn't opening. 

"We probably have to contact one of the people inside to get in," Arian whispered to her. He glanced around with a frown before taking another step to the right. His foot collided with a small patch of silver among the desert sand, and an orange button rested atop the metal. It was a control panel of some sort, but it was hard to say exactly what it did. 

Arian hesitated before leaning down and pressing his palm onto the button, needing to use a surprising amount of force to keep the button down long enough for the push to register. Once he was sure that such had been done, he moved back to Jay's side and started rocking back and forth between his toes and heels to pass the time. Sand kicked up around his shoes. 

A pair of figures appeared soon afterwards, and Jay watched them with curious eyes. She could see that one of them was wearing a helmet made of silver metal that seemed to attach to their skull somehow. The other had a right arm made completely of steel. They both wear clothing of white, gray, and orange, fitting in with the color scheme of the city seamlessly. The pair stopped on the other side of the dome, and one pressed their hand against the glass. 

A speaker rose out from the sand below immediately, and Arian stumbled backwards from surprise. Jay threw her arm out at the last second to keep him from completely falling over in his shock. Arian righted himself soon afterwards with an awkward smile plastered haphazardly on his lips, and he stared at the speaker the same way that Jay did. 

"State your intentions," the first of the two new arrivals said bluntly. Their voice lacked any sense of emotion, but Jay wasn't about to be deceived by such a display of bluntness. If the city was this advanced, she couldn't imagine that the people weren't capable of feeling something. The entire area had been crafted perfectly, and making people without programming emotions into their heads seemed like a grave oversight. This was likely the typical way to greet strange visitors from outside the city if she had to guess. She couldn't imagine that the City of Steel saw many newcomers.