Anna Kim has been kidnapped and kept in solitary confinement on the Undying Pyre, a star fortress in space by the Marshal of the Harmonious Stars, the organization’s head military official. The military has been troubled by the malfunctioning AI of several of its ships. The AI components have taken on names of their own, a fact that the Marshal believes is connected to the malfunctioning ships. The Marshal wants Anna to talk with one of the AIs, a process that killed her research partner, Rabia. The Marshal takes Anna to the lower levels of the ship to interface with the latest ship model, the Proteus dreadnought. She reluctantly agrees to interface with the ship, which, as a product of the latest innovation, is not solid but rather an undefined liquid shape.

When she connects with the AI, called Proteus Three, she finds a non-hostile mind on the other end of the connection. Proteus Three tells Anna of its remarkable military career and its faithfulness to duty. However, in the current upgrade, the shapeless form, its existence is intolerable. Proteus Three demonstrates this to Anna, allowing her to mentally inhabit the shapeless form. The connection becomes overwhelming, and the Marshal has to revive her. When she regains consciousness, she tells them that the AIs are experiencing dysphoria after having adapted to physical forms. The Marshal is surprisingly understanding of their discomfort and agrees to take measures to rectify the problem.