In the 22nd century, following a Great Collapse, the nation was divided into two parts: the Core, where approximately 5% of the population resides, and the Rim, home to the remaining 95%. While the Rim handles all labor and production for the nation, the Core holds the vast majority of the national wealth. Because the Core government controls the Rim's broadcasting and communications, and entry into the Core is permitted only to Core citizens, Rim citizens know almost nothing about life inside the Core. Rumors even circulate that it is a place inhabited only by robots, with no humans at all.

The new government, identifying mass politics and irrational human decision-making as the causes of the Great Collapse, established capability and data as the standards for national operation. Now, a G-Score, calculated by analyzing genes before birth, evaluates a child's cognitive ability, mental stability, and physical potential. While a Rim-born child with a high G-Score can receive Core citizenship, it is extremely rare for a child born in the Rim to achieve a high score, unlike in the Core where gene editing is commonplace.

The Rim suffers from poor public safety, severe wealth inequality, and frequent industrial accidents, leading to occasional rebellions. The Core government determined that rather than hiding these uprisings, consuming them as a form of entertainment would help lower social unrest. Currently, rebellion broadcasting in the Core has grown into a highly popular form of mass entertainment, much like old-world sports broadcasting.

This includes popularity polls for key rebel figures, tactical analysis, plot predictions, and even merchandise sales. There are even investment products called 'Races' where people bet on the survival of participants.

While inciting rebellion or destroying production facilities are capital offenses originally punishable by execution, the Core established the Exceptionally Preservation Subject (EPS) system to spare certain individuals deemed to have preservation value. EPS individuals are stripped of citizenship and legally treated as 'personal property'. The management rights, which grant the authority to own an EPS, are sold through auctions.

The recent Carr Rebellion in the Southern Rim was unprecedented. The AI failed to predict the uprising, and the leader was a woman named Raye Carr, whom the surveillance system had ignored due to her lack of distinguishing features. Predictability is a sacred value in the Core—so much so that the term vivid is used as the highest praise. Unpredictability made Core citizens anxious, but simultaneously fascinated them. The broadcast of the Carr Rebellion recorded massive viewership ratings. It was only natural that Raye Carr was selected as an EPS.

And the one who won the management rights for Raye Carr, EPS-114, is Guest.