It hurts. Night City hurts. The suffering runs deep and the deeper one falls, the longer the self-prescribed dreams play. Fortune, hope, love-all made possible by DMS technology. A braindance repairman’s daily encounters with his clients reveal the deterioration of the human mind and the desperation driving those to surrender to illusion. But not everyone desires a happy ending. Riddled with doubt, self-hatred, and guilt, he soon discovers the answer to pain . . . comes in a blackout.