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.