Introduction to the first draft of “Inferno,” a novel about an alien, Castor, who finds themselves stranded on the planet Randon, in the underground city of Seilo, after a sudden planetary storm sends their ship planet-side. The Inferno lasts 23 years.

---

Three Months After the Inferno Began

---

	Sand flows like water the lower my gaze drifts below the surface, which is visible towards the top of the glass wall. The sand on the surface is chaotic; the wind carries it away faster than any species’ mind could process. Behind this window, the people visiting the surface are safe. The room is 30 meters across, a hexagonal chamber of steel rising through a rare outcropping of exposed rock, even though the rock was frequently covered with sand anyways. 
	“Castor.” Min-Es calls me. “This one is in the direction of the capitol.” If the sound dampeners weren’t working, it would be deafening in this chamber. Instead, I hear my companion clearly over the muted buffeting of wind. Before I walk towards him, I make sure to keep my lip from twitching into any sort of smile.
	I stand next to him, studying his face. He’s looking at a completely covered window. “Vate’el?” I ask.
	He smiles. “Va’tael, pronounced, ‘Vay-tail.’ It’s a slant rhyme.”
	I nod. “We haven’t talked about it much.”
	“I wanted to wait until we could see it.” He looks down at his boots, comfortable soles that take the wear his feet otherwise would, designed to last despite constantly treading over rock and metal. All of Seilo features predominantly brutalist, long-lasting, and utilitarian structures carved from the ground and reinforced to perfection with an unending amount of steel. It started as a settlement built to survive. Centuries later, it expanded greatly, developing a healthy population and reputation to that of a city worthy of being near to the capital. 
	“The jewel of Randon.” I start. “A marvel of Randovian progress making itself known from orbit, pushing through the Inferno.”
	“That’s the new phrase, yeah.” He chuckles. “They used to call it: ‘The Jewel: Precision Incarnate.”
	I blink. “That’s intense.”
	“Yep. They’re intense. Now, they’re spreading that message of unity. Now, they’re “The Jewel of Randon. A marvel of Randovian progress. Pushing through the Inferno.” He mimes the Inferno’s rage streaking across the sky with his hand, arcing along the glass where the horizon would be visible. At that moment, the sand begins to clear, slowly skating off to one side, forming a dune that peels the debris from our view. Min-Es Gasps. “Fuck.”
	The Inferno swirls high above us, tainting the upper atmosphere with a gorgeous orange glow and fading off into the horizon as it envelops the planet. The normally brown sand and clouds of dust are visible thanks to the inferno’s unnatural pallor. The increased visibility unveils a sightline to Va’tael, normally visible only during only the calmest of storms on Randon, which were highly unpredictable. It rose high into the inferno, a conical structure that pierces the sky itself, withstanding the high temperatures and ferocity. People living above the surface in Va’tael could look out at Seilo’s single viewport every day if they chose.
	“They may be intense, but Va’tael does push through the Inferno. To them, it isn’t an issue. Communicating with us would be easy if they tried.” He frowns. “They have the best engineers over there.”
	I grab his shoulder. My blue translucent skin shifts to a darker color and turns opaquer as we touch. We look into each other’s eyes. I furrow my brow. 
	“They don’t have me.”