St John's Monastery was a 13th century monastery located on a "tiny island" on Earth. In the 22nd century it was used as a factory by a group of military contractors led by Miranda Cleaves. The monastery was located on a small island in the middle of a large body of water.
The contractors used the Flesh to create expendable, remote-controlled duplicates nicknamed Gangers; these were used to protect the workers from the acid mined by the factory. However, a solar tsunami disrupted the connection and left the Gangers self-aware. (TV: The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People)