It is the most hostile environment of all. It's boundaries are limitless, stretching beyond the sight of the most powerful probes. There is no air; no water. A deadly radioactive hail sleets through it's emptiness. Baked to boiling by the Sun; frozen to absolute zero on it's darkside, it can crack metal, powder plastic and boil oxygen. An unprotected man can exist in it's unforgiving realm for only a few moments, before his lungs burst, his blood boils away to steam, and his body freeze-dries. It is Space. ~~ On the very edge of Earth's atmosphere, a generation of human beings is carving out a life among the silent stars. Their weapons are the lance and shield of cybertechnology; welded together by human skill and the drive to conquer the Black Beyond. It is the world of the Orbital colonies. In NEAR ORBIT, you'll enter a new dimension of the CYBERPUNK universe - Space. Realistic rules for Zero Gee combat, radiation hazards, airless environments - they're all here, as well as complete stats and background on the tools, weapons, spacecraft and vehicles of the Last Frontier.