Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026
In a future where slavery has returned to the outer solar system, Diana Spartaca is a gladiator fighting to survive in Nova Roma, a colony orbiting Saturn. A former fusion engineer who sold herself into slavery to pay her late father’s debts and support her family, Diana has become an undefeated arena champion, earning the nickname “Diana the Dirtsider” for her Earth origins.
The story opens on July 1st, the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, as Diana faces a convicted child murderer in a death match. Though she wins without intending to kill, the murderer attacks her after receiving mercy from Caesar, forcing Diana to kill him in self-defense. She discovers later that the 3V broadcast was edited to make her look like a cold-blooded executioner, part of a conspiracy to destroy her reputation.
Diana trains a new squire named Becky, who is actually Julie—a girl kidnapped by Slavers and falsely convicted of murder. Together they become entangled with Assistant Director Wee of Titan Corporation, who hires Diana as a bodyguard. Wee reveals he’s a silent partner in the law firm Wee, Cheatham, and Howe, and offers to help Diana sue for rights to her father’s stolen fusion drive technology.
The narrative weaves between the futuristic gladiatorial contests and historical parallels to the American Civil War, particularly the Battle of Gettysburg and the relationship between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee—two men who opposed slavery despite fighting on opposite sides.
Diana discovers that Titan Corp has been using her father’s revolutionary fusion drive designs while covering up their theft. The conspiracy runs deep: the corporation freed the murderer to kill Diana in the arena, preventing her from recognizing her father’s work and claiming her inheritance. They framed Wee as the mastermind while secretly using his accounts.
With help from the Gravity Lab (which employs instantaneous transport technology), Katherine Campbell’s security double “Kit,” and various allies including the supernatural figure Nick l’ Saint, Diana escapes to Titan. There, Kit arrests Titan Corp’s corrupt director using a blank warrant from the real Katherine Campbell, allowing Wee to become acting director.
Wee confesses to the crimes his boss committed, buys back Diana’s slave contract, and agrees to retrofit the navy’s ships with her father’s fusion technology. Diana gains her freedom and rights to her father’s work, breaking the corporate conspiracy.
The story ends with Diana free at last, ready to reunite with her young siblings in Indiana. The narrative draws powerful parallels between future slavery and America’s Civil War, suggesting that the fight for freedom is eternal and must be won again in each generation. Through Diana’s journey from enslaved gladiator to free woman and rightful heir, the story explores themes of justice, sacrifice, and the enduring human struggle against oppression across time and space.
Rodrigo Garcia y Robertson is an American writer of historical and fantasy fiction. He holds a Ph.D. in history and taught at UCLA and Villanova University before becoming a full-time writer. In addition to his eight novels, he has had numerous short stories published in fantasy and science fiction anthologies.