Stained and Unseen

Go Jung-hwa, known as Hwa, is a bodyguard in New Arcadia, a city built on an oil rig off Newfoundland. She is one of the last "organic" humans, her face marked by a port-wine stain and unedited by genetic engineering. This makes her both invisible to the city's surveillance systems and marginalized by society. Hwa's value lies in her ability to go unnoticed, a skill that keeps her alive in a world where most people are augmented and constantly monitored. Her daily life is a struggle for survival, dignity, and meaning, as she navigates the city's underbelly, protecting sex workers and herself from violence, while haunted by her own family's history and her brother's death in a catastrophic rig explosion.

New Owners, Old Wounds

The Lynch Corporation, a powerful and secretive family business, buys New Arcadia, throwing the city's future into chaos. The new owners' intentions are unclear, and rumors swirl about job losses, policy changes, and the fate of the city's marginalized workers. Hwa, already on the fringes, is caught between her loyalty to her union and the seductive promise of a better life under Lynch. The city's social fabric frays as old wounds—class, race, and gender divides—are reopened by the uncertainty of corporate rule. Hwa's mother, Sunny, a former pop idol and sex worker, embodies the city's resilience and pain, while Hwa herself is forced to confront her own sense of worth and belonging.

The Heir's Bodyguard

Daniel Síofra, a mysterious Lynch executive, recruits Hwa to be the personal bodyguard for Joel Lynch, the teenage heir to the Lynch empire. Joel is a genius but socially awkward, and his life is threatened by a series of cryptic death threats. Hwa's organic status makes her the perfect candidate: she cannot be hacked or manipulated through implants. As she trains Joel in self-defense and navigates the treacherous politics of the Lynch family, Hwa is drawn into a web of intrigue, manipulation, and danger. Her relationship with Joel becomes both a job and a genuine connection, as she tries to keep him alive and teach him how to survive in a world that wants him dead.

Ghosts in the System

Hwa's investigation into the threats against Joel reveals a world where the boundaries between the digital, the biological, and the supernatural are porous. She encounters invisible assassins using advanced camouflage, ghostly auras that may be seizure-induced hallucinations or something more, and a city infrastructure riddled with surveillance and secrets. The Lynch family's obsession with immortality and the Singularity—the rise of superintelligent AI—casts a shadow over everything. Hwa's own medical condition, Sturge-Weber syndrome, becomes both a vulnerability and a shield, as she is immune to the city's digital manipulation but at risk from her own body.

Violence and Vulnerability

The job is brutal. Hwa is shot during a staged school shooting "drill" that turns deadly, and her friends in the sex worker community are murdered in gruesome, ritualistic ways. The city's marginalized are easy targets, and Hwa's sense of responsibility grows heavier as she fails to protect those she cares about. Her own home is vandalized, her brother's trophies destroyed, and she is forced to confront the limits of her strength and the depth of her trauma. The violence is both physical and psychological, as Hwa battles not just killers but the city's indifference and her own self-doubt.

The Lynch Family's Secret

The Lynch patriarch, Zachariah, reveals his obsession with defeating death and ensuring his family's dominance. He believes in a future where consciousness can be uploaded and bodies replaced—a vision that drives the family's secret projects and ruthless actions. Joel is both heir and pawn, and Hwa learns that the threats against him may come from within the family itself. The Lynch siblings are rivals, and the company's experiments with programmable tissue and AI have unintended, monstrous consequences. Hwa is caught in the crossfire of a dynastic struggle that could destroy the city.

Death Threats and Dead Ends

Hwa's search for Joel's would-be killer takes her through the city's underworld, from the causeways beneath the rig to the hacker enclaves and biotech labs. She uncovers evidence of illegal bio-nano machines, programmable tissue that can heal or kill, and a pattern of murders targeting sex workers. The killer is always one step ahead, using the city's technology and the Lynch family's resources to cover their tracks. Hwa's own body becomes a battleground, as she is infected with the same machines that killed her friends, but somehow survives.

The Killer Among Us

The murderer is not a simple psychopath but a product of the Lynch family's experiments—a changeling, a being who can move between bodies and times, manipulating events to ensure the family's future. The killer's motives are both personal and cosmic: to shape the destiny of the Lynch dynasty and humanity itself. Hwa realizes that she is not just fighting for Joel's life, but for the soul of the city and the meaning of humanity in a world where technology can rewrite reality.

Under the Causeways

Hwa's investigation takes her beneath the city, to the trolls who live under the causeways and the witch who sees through the eyes of the networked homeless. Here, the city's discarded and forgotten hold their own power and knowledge. Hwa learns that the killer is not just an individual but a manifestation of the city's—and the Lynch family's—darkest ambitions. The underworld is both a place of danger and a source of unexpected solidarity, as Hwa finds allies among the outcasts.

Friends Lost, Friends Made

The murders of Hwa's friends—Calliope, Layne, Sabrina, Eileen—leave her reeling with guilt and rage. She is forced to confront her own isolation and the cost of her choices. Yet, through her bond with Joel and her complicated relationship with Daniel, she finds new reasons to fight. The city's women, especially the sex workers, become both victims and sources of strength, as Hwa draws on their resilience and her own hard-won skills to continue the hunt.

The Master Control Room

The "master control room" is both a literal and metaphorical space—a place where Hwa imagines herself in control, able to lock doors and make decisions. It becomes the key to her survival and the climax of her battle with the killer. In the reactor's control room, Hwa finally confronts the changeling, using her unique organic status and her willpower to lock them both in and initiate a meltdown, sacrificing herself to save Joel and the city.

The Reactor's Shadow

The final confrontation takes place in the depths of the experimental reactor, a symbol of the city's—and the Lynch family's—ambition and hubris. Hwa's willingness to die to stop the killer is both a rejection of the Lynch vision of immortality and an affirmation of her own humanity. Yet, in the aftermath, she is resurrected by the very technology she fought against, her body remade by programmable tissue, her stain erased, her identity transformed.

Betrayal and Survival

Hwa wakes in a white room, her body healed but her sense of self shaken. She must reckon with the consequences of her actions, the loss of her friends, and the new reality of her existence. Daniel, also a changeling, confesses his love and his role in her transformation. Joel, now the head of the Lynch family, offers her a place by his side—not as a servant, but as a friend and equal. The city begins to heal, but the scars remain.

The Strange Loop

The killer's true nature is revealed: a product of the Lynch family's future, sent back to ensure their own dominance. Hwa is the "strange loop," the unpredictable element that disrupts the cycle of violence and control. Her survival is both an accident and a miracle, a testament to the power of disorder and the possibility of change. The story loops back on itself, as Hwa's choices echo through time and shape the future in ways she cannot foresee.

Becoming More Than Human

Hwa's transformation is both a loss and a liberation. She is no longer the stained, invisible girl, but something new—a hybrid of flesh and machine, past and future. She must learn to live with her new body and the knowledge that she is both a product of and a challenge to the world that made her. Her relationships with Daniel and Joel deepen, as they all struggle to define what it means to be human in a world where the boundaries are constantly shifting.

The Best of All Worlds

In the end, Hwa chooses to stay in New Arcadia, to help Joel build a city—and a world—where people like her can survive and thrive. The Lynch family's vision of immortality is tempered by the lessons of loss and love. Hwa's journey from invisibility to agency, from trauma to transformation, is both a personal victory and a blueprint for resistance in a world that wants to erase difference. The story ends with the promise of new beginnings, as Hwa, Daniel, and Joel look toward a future they will shape together.

Characters

Go Jung-hwa (Hwa)

Hwa is the protagonist, a half-Korean, half-Newfoundlander bodyguard with a port-wine stain and Sturge-Weber syndrome. She is one of the last unaugmented humans in New Arcadia, making her both invisible to surveillance and marginalized by society. Hwa is tough, resourceful, and fiercely loyal, but haunted by trauma, self-doubt, and the loss of her brother. Her journey is one of survival, self-discovery, and transformation, as she moves from the city's margins to its center, ultimately becoming both more and less than human. Her relationships—with her mother, her friends, Joel, and Daniel—are fraught with pain and possibility, and her greatest strength is her refusal to give up, even when the world tries to erase her.

Joel Lynch

Joel is the teenage heir to the Lynch Corporation, a prodigy with a suite of emotional dampening implants and a sheltered upbringing. He is both a pawn in his family's dynastic struggles and a genuinely good person, eager to learn and connect. Joel's relationship with Hwa is transformative for both: she teaches him how to survive, and he gives her a reason to hope. As the story progresses, Joel matures from a naive boy into a leader, forced to confront the darkness at the heart of his family and the city.

Daniel Síofra

Daniel is a Lynch executive with a hidden past and a body rebuilt by programmable tissue. He is both a company man and a rebel, torn between loyalty to the Lynches and his growing love for Hwa. Daniel's own amnesia and transformation mirror Hwa's journey, and their relationship is a source of both strength and danger. He is the bridge between the human and posthuman worlds, and his willingness to break the rules for Hwa is both his greatest virtue and his greatest risk.

Zachariah Lynch

The founder and head of the Lynch Corporation, Zachariah is a visionary and a tyrant, driven by a fear of death and a desire to control the future. His belief in the Singularity and the possibility of uploading consciousness shapes the family's secret projects and ruthless actions. Zachariah is both a loving father and a monster, willing to sacrifice anything—and anyone—for his vision.

Sunny (Go Sun-hwa)

Sunny is Hwa's mother, a former K-pop idol and sex worker who embodies both the city's resilience and its wounds. Her relationship with Hwa is fraught with disappointment, resentment, and unspoken love. Sunny's own struggles with beauty, survival, and motherhood are a mirror for Hwa's journey, and her final act—giving Hwa photos of her unedited self—is both an explanation and a kind of forgiveness.

The Killer / Mr. Branch

The serial killer is not a simple psychopath but a being created by the Lynch family's experiments with programmable tissue and AI. Able to move between bodies and times, the killer's goal is to shape the Lynch dynasty's future by eliminating threats and ensuring the right sequence of events. The killer is both a symbol of the dangers of unchecked ambition and a literal manifestation of the family's darkest desires.

Mistress Séverine

Séverine is the head of the sex workers' union and a source of wisdom and support for Hwa. She represents the city's marginalized but resilient community, and her guidance helps Hwa survive both physical and psychological threats. Séverine's own history and strength are a reminder that survival is a collective effort.

Eileen, Calliope, Layne, Sabrina

These women are Hwa's friends and fellow sex workers, each with their own struggles and strengths. Their murders are both a personal tragedy for Hwa and a symbol of the city's indifference to its most vulnerable. Their memories haunt Hwa and drive her to seek justice, even at great personal cost.

Silas, Katherine, and the Lynch Siblings

Joel's older siblings are both allies and antagonists, each with their own ambitions and resentments. Their rivalry and willingness to sacrifice Joel for their own gain are a microcosm of the family's dysfunction and the dangers of unchecked power.

Nail, Rusty, and the Union Community

The members of the sex workers' union, especially Nail, Rusty, and the Union Community, provide Hwa with a sense of belonging and support. They are a reminder that family is not just blood, but the people who stand by you when the world turns hostile.

Plot Devices

Organic Invisibility and Surveillance

The narrative uses Hwa's organic, unedited body as a plot device to explore themes of visibility, agency, and marginalization. Her inability to be seen by the city's surveillance systems makes her both uniquely valuable and profoundly isolated. This device allows the story to critique a world obsessed with perfection, control, and data, while highlighting the power and vulnerability of those who fall outside the system.

Programmable Tissue and the Singularity

The Lynch family's experiments with programmable tissue, bio-nano machines, and AI are central to the plot. These technologies blur the line between human and machine, life and death, and are both the source of the city's promise and its greatest danger. The killer's ability to move between bodies, Hwa's own transformation, and the family's quest for immortality all hinge on the possibilities and perils of biotech.

The Master Control Room

The "master control room" is both a literal space (the reactor's control center) and a metaphor for Hwa's desire for agency in a world that wants to erase her. It is the place where she can make choices, lock doors, and shape outcomes. The narrative structure uses this device to explore themes of power, vulnerability, and the limits of control in a world shaped by technology and trauma.

Foreshadowing and Nonlinear Time

The story is rich with foreshadowing, from the death threats and visions in the crystal ball to the killer's manipulation of time and causality. The nonlinear structure, with flashbacks, dreams, and alternate realities, reinforces the theme of the "strange loop"—the idea that the past, present, and future are interconnected, and that small acts of resistance can echo across time.

Social Commentary and World-Building

The narrative uses the setting of New Arcadia—a city of outcasts, sex workers, and corporate overlords—to explore issues of class, gender, race, and power. The world-building is detailed and immersive, with layers of technology, surveillance, and social hierarchy that both enable and constrain the characters' choices. The plot devices of union solidarity, corporate intrigue, and urban decay ground the story's speculative elements in real-world struggles.

Analysis

Company Town is a fiercely contemporary science fiction noir that interrogates the boundaries between human and machine, power and vulnerability, and survival and transformation. Through Hwa's journey—from invisible, marginalized bodyguard to agent of change and hybrid survivor—the novel explores the costs and possibilities of resisting a world obsessed with perfection, control, and immortality. The Lynch family's quest for dominance and the killer's manipulation of time and bodies serve as both literal and metaphorical critiques of corporate power, technological hubris, and the erasure of difference. Yet, the novel's heart lies in its celebration of resilience, solidarity, and the messy, painful, beautiful work of being human. In a world where the future is always trying to overwrite the present, Company Town insists that disorder, imperfection, and love are not just sources of pain, but the seeds of hope and change.

Last updated: June 15, 2025