Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin

Author:S.A. Tholin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: SATholin
Published: 2018-03-17T23:00:00+00:00

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In the sun's burning core, a voice came to her, cheerful and disembodied. It welcomed her to the Primaterre, and as it spoke, the fire faded to smoke. She floated in a vast and hazy chamber, and no matter how she turned, she could see no exit. She was faint and transparent, barely more than smoke herself. She had become a ghost, torn from her body into this empty space. Cold rings of panic wrapped her heart, her mind resisting the experience, synapses fizzling and veins throbbing. If she returned to her body now, she was sure her nose would drip with blood.

"Behold," said the voice, "the Primaterre Protectorate."

One by one, luminous planets appeared in the emptiness, centred around the glowing orb of Earth.

"And the walls by which we guard it."

Brick by brick, the walls of a castle grew high and forbidding around the worlds, encasing them behind crenellated parapets. It was at once far away and so close she could touch it; small enough for her to cradle in the palm of her hand, and so huge and sprawling that she stood inside its courtyard, staring in awe at the broach-spired towers. In the highest spire, a circular window, stained milky-white and ebon, was wreathed by the rays of the Primaterre sun.

It was beautiful, but when she looked at it, the rays reached for her; inside of her. Her mind stretched as they pulled and tugged, and she wept with fear for what would happen when it snapped. It reached breaking point – and the taste of blood was like a heat-shimmer around her – and then relaxed, the sun's rays becoming whisper-soft. They coaxed and hushed, warmed and comforted, and as they settled to frame the edges of her mind, they told her not to worry, to listen to the voice.

"Bastion, Rampart and Moat. Oriel, Tower and Sanctum. No matter your path, you walk with truth and clarity. You are Primaterre, and Primaterre protects us all."

The castle disappeared, and the voice changed from pompous to jovial as it first ran through a list of functions available to the basic military package, before moving onto suggesting upgrades available for purchase at the nearest Primaterre station (which, it helpfully added, was Hildr Station – a mere fifty light-years away).

All the while Joy flailed, nauseous in the grey nothingness. She tried rubbing her eyes, but when her hands touched her skin, it felt like she was somehow touching herself from a thousand miles away, and her stomach turned at the very idea.

With a final trill of thank you for your service, the voice fell silent, and Joy was alone in the void, with nothing but careening panic to keep her company. She tried once more to picture her computer. It was on her kitchen table, where Finn had carved his initials while their parents were still alive to send him to his room for it. She could see it clearly, could trace the blocky letters F.S. with her fingers,

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