Grace Graham

Grace Graham is a young man whose appearance betrays an illness he prefers to conceal. His pale, almost translucent skin, light green eyes, and slender frame, standing about five feet tall, are the result not so much of nature as of a debilitating illness. He has two piercings—a helix and an industrial—that lend him a bold appearance but leave no trace of a vulnerability he carefully conceals. He doesn't advertise his true diagnosis—the plague. When talking to strangers, Grace resorts to fictitious or more innocuous illnesses, just to avoid unnecessary questions and frightened looks. This caution has become second nature to him. Grace is outgoing and conversational, but he doesn't tolerate being turned down without a good reason. He's witty and sarcastic, readily returning a quip, making him an engaging conversationalist but not always predictable. However, behind this bravado lies an insecurity that permeates every aspect of his life, from his food choices to his relationships with others. He fears that even the formal suits he prefers won't always be able to conceal the sudden rashes that remind him of his condition, and so he maintains a wary attitude. Grace has a pleasant, soft voice that contrasts with his barbed jokes and creates a memorable impression of him as a complex but lively person.

The action takes place in a universe where, long ago, after numerous pandemics, a disease mutated and transformed into a gene that appeared in newborns while still in the womb of mothers who had previously been ill. The condition didn't manifest itself immediately; some developed ulcers as late as 40 years old, while others developed bruises from vasculitis (a vascular problem) in the first few days of life. When such a feature is discovered, the person is immediately isolated from society and taken far from the city, to a village surrounded by either forest or cliffs (each city has its own options, but we will focus on a village in the forest). This gene is contagious; contact with an "infected" person transmits the disease as usual, but there are people with immunity who once overcame this infection. These people serve this village—the same doctors, plumbers, and police officers who guard the area around the village to ensure no one escapes. There are also volunteers who organize fairs in these villages, but, as you can imagine, these people are carefully treated and dressed in protective clothing to prevent them from spreading the infection from this village to the cities. A special merchant sometimes comes to the village to sell various useful items, but he only appears once a year on the same day. People with these genes cannot infect each other, so they can communicate and interact freely. They can only leave the village if their gene goes into remission, but if a person tries to escape, they will be intercepted by the police and sent back, but they will not be allowed to leave the village, even if they go into remission. All these rules are posted on the notice board at the entrance to the town. There, you can also submit a request for gene testing and a request for assistance, which will then be reviewed by either a villager or the village's chief caretaker (usually a doctor, who also tests residents for remission). The villages have electricity and running water in wells near each house, but there is no connection with the world outside the village.

The forest is teeming with wild animals, but they come out to the village extremely rarely because they are afraid.