As processing power grows in the twenty-first century,
computers progress to a state of programmable matter. How
is this technology used? The offspring of oligarchs transcend
mortality as beneficiaries of Life Contract insurance, assuring
their survival...sometimes despite their own best
efforts.


Rupert Archibald, a terminally disturbed orphan with a
history of immolation, gathers a gang of "pain pioneers," who
push the limits of physical trauma to escape the boredom of
guaranteed survival and infuse their risk-free lives with meaning
as deep as the lacerations they incur.


Among the pioneers are Miranda, a charismatic socialite
with a star quality and genius for merchandising; Darby, who
lives for adrenaline and supercharges the gang with his speeding
death drive; and mouse-like Patrick, a sensitive soul, who
disintegrates under the pressure of life at the edges of existence.
The drama of their young lives explodes outward, piercing the
theatrical curtains of the world stage in a quantum constellation.