Martim is the novel’s deuteragonist and a foil to Isako, functioning as a tragic figure whose ambition leads to his complete undoing. A round and dynamic character, Martim is defined by a burning desire to escape his humble “deckhand origins” and achieve the highest echelons of corporate status. Unlike Isako, whose relationship with the Code is rooted in tradition and honor, Martim’s approach is purely transactional; for him, being an atier is a means to acquire wealth, influence, and the luxurious signifiers of success, such as designer clothing. His intense insecurity about his background fuels a relentless work ethic, but it also makes him deeply vulnerable to the manipulations of his client, the powerful and demanding Sandbar Uchi. Martim initially believes that he can master the system by becoming the perfect, indispensable aide, a belief that leads him down a path of increasing moral compromise.

Martim’s story is a powerful exploration of The Dangers of Technological Progress. His willing complicity in Uchi’s schemes, from cleaning up the Field 93 disaster to orchestrating a campaign against Isako’s division, culminates in the ultimate act of self-erasure: agreeing to be forcibly recorporalized into Uchi’s synthbody. This act is the climax of his tragic arc, transforming him from an ambitious individual into a literal ghost in the machine, an imposter who has sacrificed his identity for the illusion of power. His existence as Uchi’s doppelganger is a torment, as he’s trapped in an artificial body and a life that isn’t his own, haunted by the loss of his humanity and the secrets he must keep. He becomes a living symbol of a system where even a person’s very being can be co-opted for a client’s agenda.

His relationship with Isako highlights a generational divide in the atier profession. Where Isako’s career is winding down, defined by decades of rigid adherence to a code she’s only now beginning to question, Martim’s is a short, explosive trajectory fueled by modern, cynical ambition. He seeks Isako’s approval but ultimately rejects her traditionalism, viewing her as a relic of a bygone era. During his final confrontation with Isako, he comes clean as himself, a young man who recognizes the catastrophic failure of his choices. His death at the hands of the Agency is the ultimate irony of the novel; having given up his life to serve his client’s legacy, he is ultimately erased by the very system he sought to conquer. His fate is a grim cautionary tale about the loss of self in the pursuit of corporate success.

Kob, known professionally as “Strikebreaker,” is a sidekick who is an important moral and practical anchor for Isako. A former elite atier of the same generation as Isako, Kob is a round and dynamic character who has already undergone a significant transformation before the novel begins. He has willingly become a “badgeless” ronin, having walked away from contract work after a crisis of conscience and a diagnosis of the terminal neurodegenerative disease Gray’s Waste. Kob represents an alternative path to Isako’s initial worldview; he has rejected the Code of Client Service out of a personal moral reckoning. His choice to live as a freelancer, a life of precarity and social stigma, demonstrates a commitment to a personal code over a professional one.

Kob’s defining traits are his weary wisdom, his compassion, and his unwavering loyalty to Isako. Despite his formidable reputation for brutally ending worker strikes, he displays a deep empathy for the disenfranchised, born from his own guilt and his new position as an outcast. He meticulously visits the nameplaces of those he was ordered to terminate, a ritual of repentance that highlights his view of his perfect memory as a “curse.” When he re-enters Isako’s life, he functions as both her protector and her conscience. He provides physical backup in dangerous situations, but more importantly, he challenges her rigid adherence to the Code, gently guiding her toward the realization that her duty to her client doesn’t have to be her only compass. His own experience with a terminal illness gives him a perspective on life and death that helps Isako re-evaluate her own decision to resign.

Uchi is the primary antagonist of the novel and is a round and static character whose charisma and ambition mask a deep ruthlessness. As the powerful director of Southern Continent Gas Production, Uchi is the face of the terraformist movement, a visionary leader dedicated to achieving the Founders’ Vision of a habitable Aquilo. He’s depicted as a man of immense talent and drive but also of extreme ego and paranoia. He demands absolute loyalty and performance from his subordinates and discards those who fail to meet his exacting standards, as seen in his public humiliation and firing of Elm Anders. His character is defined by a belief that his goals justify any means, a philosophy that leads him to cover up the Field 93 disaster by eliminating survivors.

Uchi’s motivations are complicated by his secret diagnosis of Gray’s Waste, a fatal disease that threatens to derail his ambition to join the Board of Directors and secure the terraformist agenda. This diagnosis fuels his desperation and leads him to conceive of the novel’s central conspiracy: the illegal recorporalization of his atier, Martim, into his own synthetic body. This act represents the apex of his hubris and his view of other people, even his most loyal aide, as disposable tools for his legacy. He manipulates Martim’s ambition and insecurity, offering him the ultimate prize of power while actually sentencing him to a loss of identity and eventual death. Uchi embodies the corrupting influence of power and the moral vacuum at the heart of the Company’s leadership.

Minto is a secondary antagonist, a flat and static character who embodies the cold, calculating nature of the Company’s elite. As the director of Satellite Operations and a member of the Board of Directors, she is a powerful “second stager” who has long since shed the passions and frailties of her first-stage life. Her office, a lush private garden filled with rare plants and animals, symbolizes the immense wealth and detachment of the second-stage ruling class. Minto’s primary motivation is the consolidation of her own power and the advancement of the reunionist faction. She demonstrates her cunning by using a legal loophole to forcibly acquire Isako’s lifelong contract, trapping the atier in a final mission against her will. This act is a clear example of The Illusion of Choice Under Capitalism, as she leverages Isako’s professional code and family obligations to turn her into a pawn. While she opposes Uchi, her motives are political rather than moral; she seeks to eliminate a rival rather than pursue justice, and she’s ultimately willing to exploit the conspiracy that Isako uncovers for her own strategic advantage.