Sixteen months before the start of the main narrative, Martim attends an emergency early-morning meeting following a catastrophic airshield failure at Gas Field 93. The disaster has killed over 100 people so far, with the toll still rising: The casualties are mostly wagemen who were on strike but also include 31 loyal employees. Arriving prepared, Martim briefs Director Uchi on the latest casualty numbers. Uchi’s bodyguards, Rocco and Thea, are present, and Thea warns Martim of a coming “storm.”

Uchi frames the 31 loyalists as heroes and orders a fund established for their families. However, Fox Wilson, the subdirector of Risk Management, warns that the public will turn the dead strikers into martyrs and that Uchi will be blamed for the disaster. Uchi angrily denounces the strikers as reckless criminals. The meeting is interrupted when Uchi fires Elm Anders, the subdirector of Analytics, for being unprepared. When Anders threatens to go to the press and blame Uchi for the deaths, Rocco and Thea forcibly remove him from the room. Uchi then tasks Martim with finding a replacement for Anders by the end of the day.

In his private office after the meeting, Uchi confronts Martim, correctly sensing his disapproval. Martim argues that firing Anders was a mistake that turned him into a disgruntled liability. The incident may damage Uchi’s reputation and hurt his chances for a Board of Directors nomination. 

Uchi admits that the firing was poorly handled, but he refuses to rehire Anders. Instead, he authorizes Martim to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Anders remains silent. They discuss the political obstacles to Uchi’s Board nomination, with Uchi expressing a stoic attitude about accepting what he can’t control. Before Martim leaves, he contacts a subcontractor named Crater to perform an “electronic” cleanup job, implying the need to erase damaging digital records.

A month later, Martim meets Rain Kob to hire him for a sensitive job. The task is to eliminate seven individuals who pose a threat to Sandbar Uchi: six surviving strikers from the Field 93 disaster and the recently fired Elm Anders. 

Kob initially refuses, stating that he no longer does that kind of work. However, Martim persuades him by appealing to the precariousness of his own career and offering 50% above Kob’s going rate; Kob counters with double rates, half up front, and Martim agrees. After reviewing the names and photos on Martim’s screen, Kob takes the job. 

Before leaving, he warns Martim that the life of an atier is difficult and advises him to continue practicing with his longknife for his own protection.

One year before the start of the main narrative, Martim is awakened by an urgent call from a hospital: Sandbar Uchi has survived a bombing that destroyed his car. At the hospital, a shaken Uchi explains that his bodyguard Rocco was killed in the explosion and that Thea is critically injured. 

Thea’s torso is nearly severed, and doctors give her little chance of a meaningful recovery. Uchi offers the dying Thea a choice: He can save her life by transferring her consciousness into a top-of-the-line synthbody that had been commissioned for his ex-wife. Thea would survive but would be contractually bound to Uchi for life. She accepts. Uchi arranges for Thea’s recorporalization and separately tells Martim that he’s suspicious that his political allies, particularly Board member Tide Sullivan, are turning on him. He tasks Martim with discovering the truth. At the hospital exit, he adds that while bodyguards are replaceable, Martim is not.

Twenty-six hours later, an exhausted Martim learns that Rain Kob has terminated their contract, leaving one target alive: a former striker now publicly calling for Uchi’s death under the alias “Waterboy.” 

Furious and feeling personally endangered, Martim is unable to sleep. He takes an illicit drug from his dealer, Vincent, and places a rambling, vulnerable call to his mentor, Isthmus Isako. He confesses his doubts about his career and the intense pressure of the job. Isako replies with a terse message acknowledging that all atiers doubt themselves, stating that the atier’s life isn’t for the weak, though Martim himself is not weak. Her blunt reply stings Martim but also strengthens his resolve to endure the pressure of his position.

Two months later, Martim meets with Condor Anand, the atier for NorCon GasPro Director Tide Sullivan, a senior Board member and key ally to Sandbar Uchi. Anand arranges the meeting at a futsal game between their divisions’ teams, establishing a subtle power dynamic. 

After SoCon’s team wins, Anand advises Martim that it’s a bad time for Uchi to seek a Board of Directors nomination. Citing the controversy around the Field 93 disaster and Uchi’s polarizing reputation, Anand suggests that he wait a few years. Martim understands this as a signal that Sullivan and NorCon’s support is no longer unconditional and that they’re trying to delay Uchi’s advancement.

Immediately after the meeting with Anand, Martim is called to the hospital where Uchi is undergoing follow-up tests for a concussion sustained in the bombing. 

While waiting, Martim speaks with Thea, who is now in her new synthbody. She reveals the deep difficulty of adjusting to her synthetic existence and the social isolation it has caused. She also confides that Uchi forbids her from making any modifications to the body, which he had commissioned for his ex-wife, citing respect for the original design. 

When Martim sees Uchi, the director appears uncharacteristically old and frail before snapping back to his usual commanding self. Dismissing his doctors’ advice, Uchi becomes angry upon hearing Anand’s message. He orders Martim to find out what is truly happening with the Board, no matter what it takes.