Ricky
Ricky is a young man, less than twenty, who lives in the Annex. He crosses into Boomtown daily on a work pass to apprentice at Holman Printing in Lowtown.
We meet him in the shantytown where he lives, reading a pulp novella whose title we can partially make out: Six-Gun: The True…
Inside his squalid home, we see Ricky change into one of several clean outfits for work. He hides his novella in a secret cubby which slides out of the wall when kicked.
Through Ricky’s experience, we see what life is like for a “slummer.” He gives an oath and presents his papers at multiple gates between localities; he must receive his food at the back door of a cafe rather than walking in the front; he is threatened with a baton by a Keeper when he crosses their path; he witnesses citizens spitting at a worker from the Annex as he performs hard labor.
Ricky speaks positively of Narissa and Six-Gun and seems to romanticize the struggles in generations past. Ricky spends Preamble gathering his thoughts for a pamphlet he intends to print. In doing so, he summarizes the city’s recent history going back several generations - a history he indicates is more thorough or accurate than what is taught to the citizens within the walls.
When Ricky arrives at work, he and Holman briefly discuss a humanitarian petition being debated within the Institution. Holman tells him it is looking “ever better” for them, but it would seem this is not enough for Ricky. Once his master leaves for a meeting, Ricky begins putting the type in place to print his secret pamphlet: "In Consideration of the Annexes and All Living People.”