Content Warning: This section includes discussion of sexual assault/sex with a minor.

“Jazz” Bashara flees back to a lunar airlock with a compromised space suit. As she races back to the hatch, she argues with Bob, her superior, about the best course of action. Jazz makes it to safety in time, but she fails the test that she was undergoing. She does not receive entry into the EVA (extravehicular activity) Guild; she cannot perform solo space walks or work with the guild.

Jazz criticizes Bob’s verdict but accepts it. She heads back to her home, a “capsule domicile” that Artemisians call coffins. Her “house” is smaller than a jail cell, and while she can sit upright on her bunk, she cannot stand. Artemis as a whole consists of five interconnected “bubbles”—partially underground structures equipped for human life. Jazz’s bubble, Conrad, is where the city’s lower and working-class residents live. On her Gizmo, Jazz receives a message that a shipment of goods is inbound at the landing zone, which is next to Aldrin: the bubble where wealthy tourists visit and shop. She changes into her porter uniform to accept the delivery. She meets Dale, an EVA Guild member, on her way to the dock, and he teases her about failing the test.