Free Reflexive Fire - 01 by Jack Murphy Page B

overpass, he could see a large steel arch, smaller but similar to the one in St. Louis, Missouri.  Beyond that, far on the other side of the city was some kind of giant structure with a spike sticking out of the top.  On the flight into Kazakhstan two weeks prior, he had read that Astana was the first capital city built in the twenty first century, and built for the twenty first century, according to the tourism brochures the government promoted.
       The Samruk corporate offices were somewhere on Ryskulov Street, but with some time to kill before nightfall, he decided to spend some time reconnoitering the city before making his unexpected visit.
       Making a left towards the large spike-topped building in the distance, Deckard did a double take as he drove past a monument that looked like a burial mound surrounded by rune stones.  Everyone from the Etruscans to the American Indians made use of burial mounds, some dating back thousands of years, but he had never seen a mock-up like this used as a modern memorial.
       Even more interesting was the giant flying saucer shaped building across the street.  Judging from the statues of unicyclists and seals balancing inflatable balls on their noses it was probably a circus.
       Pulling over alongside a construction site, he stepped out of his car and buttoned up his jacket against the cold.  In front of him was the enormous steel structure he had first seen from the other side of town.  Grasping his cell phone in one hand, he began searching the web for any information regarding construction projects in Astana.
       It was called the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, designed to be the world's largest tent which would eventually be the home of an entire self contained community.  Underneath the glass and steel frame would be a shopping and entertainment center, an indoor beach resort, golf course, and more, with enough floor space for ten football fields.  Obviously Astana's city planners had some strange concept of crossing the tribal yurt with post modern design and convenience.
       Weird.
       Turning to the immediate west was an open park filled with sculptures and a fountain.  Flanking it were a series of circular apartment buildings and a gold domed mosque with four spires surrounding it.  Getting back in the BMW, Deckard pulled into the street and followed it past the park to an open mall encircling another water fountain.
       A few minutes later he was standing in the center of the fountain, which had been turned off for the winter.  In front of him was the tallest building yet.  Like a large golden column it rose high enough that Deckard had to strain his neck to see the top of it.  A placard outside declared it as the Ministry of Transport and Communication.
       In the cold breeze that blew in off the barren steppes, the city center felt empty and barren.  It was as if someone had just decided to one day build a city in the middle of nowhere and that was exactly what had happened by presidential decree.
       Farther down the boulevard was some kind of tower or needle like the one in Seattle.  Walking through another park, he could see the tower capped with a massive golden sphere.  The trees around him creaked in the wind, the only noise in the mall seeming to echo across the buildings on both sides.  On the right was the cube-looking Kazakh World Trade Center and some buildings whose architecture mimicked the wavy northern lights.  Walking stiffly he passed the circular shaped railway headquarters building and a triangular housing complex.
       What is this place?
       The tower with the golden sphere was called Bayterek according the web page displayed on his cell phone.  It looked like a giant torch to Deckard, but apparently it was representative of the Tree of Life.  Deckard did know that the tree of life was part of an ancient mono-myth, an archetype found in all cultures from ancient Babylon to the Jewish Kabbalah.  In Kazakh