"Having a high Tint Level percentage in this new system isn't as good as is usually anticipated."
This is what Elisa Graves said as she reflected on the day when Isaim Hue became the commander-in-chief of the newly founded country, Bartlett's Piece. What is a Tint Level? It's part of the assessment system that Isaim created, which dresses the entire population in special body-sensitive clothing and starts everyone at an 80% grey Tint Level. However, this level gradually begins to lower as each person develops physically, emotionally and intellectually, and after achieving a 0% Tint Level, the individual enters their Canvas Phase and, with time, will enter their Hue Phase with the help of the rain. By creating this system, Isaim hoped to enable the citizens of Bartlett's Piece to express their differences while working together to rebuild the country after the overthrow of the Metallic Order - a dictatorship that preached conformity and wanted everyone to be the same.
However, after sixteen years, things don't seem to be going as planned, as many citizens have experienced the downsides of the Hue System. Some people have been called "Slates," which is a slur referring to individuals who remain stuck at an 80% Tint Level. Elisa's Tint Level is 72%, but she is still viewed as a Slate by her co-workers at the Regional Headquarters. After witnessing her brother and sister, Deidre and Fredrick, enter their Canvas Phases during her childhood, she starts to feel discouraged about her progress and wonders if the Hue System works at all . . .
That all changes with a cyberattack at the Regional Headquarters and other areas in Bartlett's Piece. After General Metallic, the country's former dictator, hacks the national broadcasting system, everyone witnesses his ambition to destroy the Hue System for good. Fear, anxiety and discrimination mount within the entire community, as some people continue to go missing. More violent events have affected Elisa's home, as well as her life, as she becomes a target herself. Will Elisa get to see her Tint Level change before General Metallic executes his master plan? Or will General Metallic take it all away before anyone else gets a chance to see the society that Isaim envisioned for Bartlett's Piece?
