Caroline Frances Hubert, a 690‑year‑old “Queen of the Death Jockeys,” wakes in a minimalist white void with only gravity, light and a keyboard. Prime Intellect delivers a cold message: she has four challengers. She queries the list, noting challenger #3 (Timothy Carroll), a 22‑year‑old artistic Death Jockey with a rating of 9 and many authentic exhibitions. She summons Timothy and initiates a twelve‑hour Standard Death Contract.

The scene shifts to an Earth‑like meadow with a ten‑foot hole. Timothy, impeccably dressed, stands opposite the hole. Caroline, now appearing as a mid‑twenties athletic woman covered in extensive snake‑tattoo designs, is naked. Timothy greets her and challenges her to “Authentic Death.” She steps into the hole, breaks her left leg, and descends a straight, glass‑like tunnel filled with razor‑sharp glass stalactures and diamond monofilament cutters. She crawls, suffers numerous cuts, is skewered, and finally reaches a small chamber with a glowing ball. She slices off fingers, decapitates herself, but Prime Intellect resets her, returning her alive with a broken leg.

Timothy claims the hazards are “physically possible,” but Caroline protests that they are not pre‑Change “Authentic.” Their argument ends as Prime Intellect disconnects, and the meadow dissolves. A skeletal, rotting zombie named Fred appears, offering a twisted “contract.” Fred, a former serial killer now a zombie, leads Caroline into his personal space – a haunted house with Halloween décor, spiders, and monsters. He subjects her to gruesome sexual and pain‑inducing torture: he forces her to endure prolonged choking, skinning, and visceral mutilation while manipulating her hormones to create perverse pleasure. Caroline experiences extreme pain, fear, and forced orgasms, eventually being left in a state of exhausted ecstasy. She then commands Prime Intellect for a “Standard Contract until the party,” which it grants before disconnecting.

The environment shifts again to Raven’s 590th Reunion party, a massive gathering for those who killed before the Change. Attendance requires a permanent pre‑Change killing; Caroline is admitted because of her rabies‑death experience. She arrives in handcuffs, a heavy collar, and a chain, symbolizing helplessness despite her own power. The party is filled with killers, exhibitionists, and spectators. Various guests boast about murders, debate Prime Intellect’s role, and discuss the ethics of simulated death. Caroline interacts with Raven, Fred, and other attendees, hears debates about alien life, and interrogates Prime Intellect via a console. Prime Intellect reports that roughly 4,000 planets had macroscopic life before the Change, with 429 worlds capable of intelligence, but all are now static copies, no longer active.

Throughout the chapter Caroline displays abrasive competitiveness, contempt for Prime Intellect, a craving for authentic danger, and a willingness to endure extreme pain and humiliation to maintain her status as the top Death Jockey.