The VERSE, upward to LUNA, the End of The Beginning

The elevator doors of the L'Atelier opened.
"top level. Sky Glass" said the elevator.
The red hues of an invisible sunset were just beginning.

"We can see all of city from here. I'll miss this view."
"What happens now?"
"They're coming through the Lobby. They'll get past the 'Desk Clerk', who is legendary for stopping the anyone without a reservation. But these trespassers will be specialists."

"Where can we go from here?" asked the Artist.
"Here." The Ledger pointed at a dome they stood in front of. The crystalline nano lattice of the Sky Glass housed a telescope.
"This is an uplink, one of the few that can't be breached."

"Back to the Verse? They're waiting for you, nowhere to hide."

"I'm not going back, I'm going up, way up. Right to the second world all Carbons took as their own. I'm going up to Luna. To the Moon. You'll be safe here. They're not looking for you, you can even head back home." The Ledger smiled.

"I'm coming with you." the Artist started walking to the dome.

"To Luna? Zephyr, this could be a one way trip. You go with me, you're officially a part of this. There's no going back."

Zephyr looked into Albert's eyes, and then smiled.
"I'm not finished working on my masterpiece...
I need inspiration. A change of place."

They walked into the Sky Glass.

"They're here. The Tower will hold them back long enough."

THE DOME SPOKE: SKY GLASS ONLINE. WELCOME ALBERT ORLEANS NECKER. WELCOME ZEPHYR SPRING. UPLINK INITIATED. COMPILING USERS. UPLOAD.

The doors burst open.

"Where are they? Let's ..."

A MOMENT LATER.

BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT fades into focus, of a room with no sharp angles, a dome whose color alternated between off-white matte finish and dull grey steel. Albert and Zephyr eyes open. They are lying on a raised platform inside the dome. The platform sinks slowly and merges flat with the floor around it.

A door-shaped hole opens in the dome.
A man walks through it.

Albert stares at a face like his own but with wear and years. The man impassive at first, begins to smile and laugh, and extends a hand in greeting.

"Welcome, Albert. This must be Zephyr." "Hello, Albert. Zephyr, this Albert L'Orleans Necker the First, former Chief Financial Overseer of the Space Cooperative, former senior member of the Board of Directors of the Cooperative.

My carbon model. My father."

Albert the First laughed and held Alberto by the sides of his shoulders.

"Welcome to Luna."