The crowd that Default and Bracey move within is a wild one, weaving and parting as parties come in and out of focus, and relationships begin and end abruptly. These sensitives aren't into the dangerous side of things; they're the cool kids. There's the girl who records the strangers and remixes them for music. The laminate who can turn even dangerous strangers into life toys. The dual-hell-aligned psychic comic book artist. And near the top, a sensitive named Kazma Bones – or, , a relative newcomer to North Mural already drawing attention for his "bring a stranger" parties.

Kazma and Bracey talk for the first time when they catch each other in the hallway of the apartment complex that they share with one another.

And it just might be that they don't really want to admit to each other that it's not all like they thought it would be. It doesn't feel quite right, and there's something about it that feels sort of funny... but it also feels really good .

Then it stops; it goes away.

Bracey and Default are deeply shaken when one of the cats in Pussytown is killed by an unknown individual. The event acts a trigger for a series of high-level psycholy experiments that Bracey performs on the all-too-willing Default.

Chuck has been hard at work at his plan to enter Jaundice Press tower. His goal is to reach the top of the heavily guarded building and kill the condroni colony there, which he believes will cause the strangers infestation to collapse. The tower is guarded by a pack of codo, and many more; he will need to assemble a small group of other sensitives; yeah, he's good, but it's too many to take on alone.

There's Virgo, whose sneaking skills will be necessary – but who else will fight by their side?

Valeks sets his sights on goals that he must leave North Mural; namely, his journey into the upper layers beyond the dimension of the narrative, and into the world of the Meoms and the dimensionarians.

Though it's not his first time away, he nonetheless feels concern about Bracey and Default's mental states, and before he leaves, asks, "are you two going to be okay?"

At a Bicycle Day party, Bracey gets into a physical altercation with another guest, and is kicked out. The drug-addled Default is taken home by another party-goer, Adrian Zhan, who lets the psychic stay at his apartment under the alleged guise of helping him recover from the long-overdue comedown.

Bracey is unable to handle both the sudden ostracism, and Default's abrupt absence from his life. He gathers a binder of Default's drawings, notes, and collected book excerpts, takes a near-fatal overdose of psycholy, and passes out in an abandoned garage.