Monolith
Mission Report - April 1, 1954. Location - Bikini Islands, Marshall Colony, Southern Pacific.
Operation Castle accomplished with sufficient degree of success. Two underwater nuclear devices were deployed. Effective naval damage of the armaments were subsequently analyzed.
Update - April 20th, 1954.
Damage from Operation Castle was more significant than expected. Various geospatial anomalies and temporal device errors reported by onsite personnel. Bikini Island suffered an internal collapse due to a tectonic earthquake. Tsunamis expected on Pacific shores.
Update - June 12th, 1954.
Recovery personnel found an anomalous object under Operation Castle test site. Object appears to be a linear monolith with unexplainable degree of technological efficiency. Constituent unidentifiable. Radioactive dating suggests an age older than Earth. Purpose unknown. Critical Alert advised.
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Five hundred years later. The shining tropical sun was a sight for sore eyes in Monolith City, but Artemis was long used to it. He silently swore before unlocking the door to his tiny and cramped store in a winding street far from the eponymous Monolith that gave the city of wonders its name. Quickly entering the store, he used the cotton towel to wipe the sweat of his forehead. He took out a paper fan and used it to cool down the room.
Technology didn't work in this bizarre little pocket world isolated from the rest of the world. Back when the monolith was first discovered, humanity was on the brink of a third world war. One that threatened to wipe out existence itself. Yet, the discovery of this bizarre object not just quelled those threats, but turned the world into upheaval.
Artemis switched the placard hanging on his cracked wooden door from closed to open just as a potential customer walked in to his store. It was a man in his forties, thick beard and bulky shoulders. His body was covered in leather armor and his hands carried a large longsword that had cracks all over it.
"Artemis, you think you can repair this?" The man casually walked up to the counter and placed the crack filled longsword on it with a gentleness unexpected from his scar filled palms. Artemis whistled in surprise as he picked up the sword with both hands and peered at it through the lens of the hilt.
"You actually managed to shatter the mithril constituents. My forge isn't good enough to recast mithril alloys. You'll have to go to the Golden Forge to get this repaired." Artemis replied before handing the sword back to the man. "I don't think anything in the first twelve levels could cause this kind of damage on the first thirteen levels." He continued as his eyes questioned the man. The man shrugged in response causing Artemis to chuckle. Asking about an adventurer's level was a breach of the code of the city.
The man ignored Artemis' second question. "You're the best forger I know. I can't trust those greedy bastards at the Golden Forge. They might mix some impurities into my sword and extract the mithril out."
"I'm not really a forger. I am just good at repairing artifacts and weapons." Artemis replied while cleaning the dust of his shop cabinets. "And you are being too paranoid. The Golden Forge is the most reputable forger in this city and you know it. They charge a lot, but they don't do their customers dirty. Don't be stingy now, Gilbreath. If someone hears a Blue Star like you griping about costs they'll start to think Monolith City is unlivable."
"It is unlivable!" Gilbreath replied unenthusiastically. He gently placed the sword at the brink of shattering into its leather scabbard by his waist. "I want to go back to civilization and enjoy the pleasures of an air conditioner and the internet!" Artemis rolled his eyes at the man's regular rants. Living in Monolith City was a tradeoff and every person who entered the city knew it. He weighed the possibility of mocking Gilbreath by telling him to retire back to 'civilization', but eventually refrained. Even if there were tradeoffs to life near the Monolith, few ever wanted to return.
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In the constant politicking flux of human civilization on Earth, there was one isolated area of neutrality and outward appearance of peace. This was none other than the ever growing island of Monolith City, deep in the Pacific ocean in the middle of nowhere. Centuries ago, this absurd object was discovered proudly standing underwater, waiting to be discovered. Back then, the "anti-technology field", as it is now known, was only a few meters around the monolith. Countless photographs from cameras that could still be used in the Monolith's vicinity captured the fascination that had gripped the public's imagination.
It was a black quadrangular pillar etched into the ground. The material it was made of did not identify with any known element through spectrographic analysis. Abut ten meters high, it was neither threatening in its features not awe inspiring in its scale. Yet, it's infinite smoothness lent it an air of profound mystery and confusion. Unbreakable and unidentifiable, the newspapers screamed when the U.S. government finally revealed its discovery to the world.
Some thought it was a landmark made by aliens, or an older human civilization. Others claimed it was the work of god, and yet others wondered if it was the work of a demon. Speculation arose if this was a cold war mind control tactic. However, one eventuality dawned on all humans. Whatever this monolith was, its technological sophistication was far beyond what humans could accomplish. Even now, five hundred years after its discovery, the monolith remains as perplexing as ever.
This, however, wasn't the Monolith's true amazing property. When the first researchers touched the mysterious pillar, they discovered a shocking truth. The Monolith transported those who touched it into a world where the laws of the world were completely different from Earth's own. Today, this world is colloquially known as the abyss, while some others call in fantasyland. But within the Monolith's sphere of influence, humans could plunder exploit and extract resources in this abyss to gain power, strength and abilities that they could only dream of back in 'civilization', beyond the confines of the Monolith's anti technology field..