A first-person narrator living in a mathematically ordered total state keeps a private journal as the regime finishes a glass, fire-breathing ship destined for the stars. Contact with a clandestine circle and a passionate relationship awaken forbidden memories and desires, prompting intellectual and emotional rebellion against enforced uniformity. Satirical and lyrical, the narrative alternates speculative description and intimate confession to examine surveillance, collectivism, the privileging of reason over feeling, and the precariousness of individual creativity under rigid systems.