The first part of the Prologue describes Atlas Blakely’s background. He found his invitation to join the Alexandrian Society in the trash in his mother’s flat and was initially against joining, but ultimately, he was bored enough to do so. Among his cohort of initiates, Ezra Fowler stands out to him. Through their drug-tinged conversations, Atlas and Ezra bonded over the weight of their abilities, the ability to read minds and manipulate time, respectively, and the burdens they both carry. The pair decide to reshape the Society. The chapter closes with Atlas’s talk with Elizabeth “Libby” Rhodes, a member of the Atlas Six whom he recruited to join the Society, after she killed Ezra.

This brief anecdote discusses the duality of humanity. It has a side that is dark, depraved, and self-destructive. However, it is also capable of compassion, empathy, and sacrifice, as evidenced by Romito 2, a 10,000-year-old skeleton of an individual with dwarfism who survived to adulthood. His survival proves that he was cared for and valued simply because he existed. The chapter rejects a binary interpretation of human nature and recognizes that both darkness and compassion coexist within every person.