Now less commonly referred to as the Asteroid Belt, The Line is the physical barrier between the Inner and Outer Solar System. The debris in the Belt itself is not as much of an impediment to travel into the Inner System, as its reputation. Aside from the occasional binary pair, the asteroids themselves are typically many kilometers apart and not difficult to bypass. However the stigma attached to the Inner System, and the fact that in recent history, those who travel to it never return, keeps most at bay.

In the past, pundits criticized the use of the term The Line, seeing as the Asteroid Belt is closer to a circle in shape. The name is thought to have been derived from an old adage, “crossing the line,” as in some grandiose dare. Other critics have pointed out how one could also fly over or under The Line to cross to the Inner System, but since those who have done so have never come back either, this criticism was quickly dismissed on the com-net.

The sinister reputation surrounding it has made its name–The Line–stick in modern culture. By the year 200, few seem to regard the seeming misnomer with so much as a second thought.