Summer Atali

"I usually like new things. Good ones, at least. I don’t like it when they’re distressing."

- Summer

Summer Atali is a fifteen-year-old human who attended Aksel School of Elite Education. She was an indentured servant to MiliLabs and proficient in hacking.

Appearance
Summer is shorter than average, with a bright demeanor and a smile that is slightly crooked. She has a "pear-shaped" and has brown eyes, as well as dark brown skin and black hair. She owns a fuzzy brown and orange striped sweater which she often wears.

Personality
Summer is optimistic and enthusiastic, reacting with joy to simple things such as interesting technology. She enjoys learning about technology and tends toward excitability when in its prescense.

Despite her extraverted persona, she rarely shares her true worries and feelings, and often pretends to be more innocent or happy than she is. She is reluctant to let others in on her plans and very often chooses to deal with issues on her own, even to her detriment. Her childhood in the Spreads taught her caution and mistrust of others, and she hides her true feelings and experiences rather than share them with those she trusts. For example, she tries to keep the true reason why she visits MiliLabs a secret from Leafsong.

She is caring and empathetic toward others, and often uses her abilities to help people in any way she can, even at risk to herself. While she has a tendency toward meekness and obedience to authority, she breaks this obedience when others are at risk, such as when she lied to protect a squell and risked being expelled rather than hurt Leafsong.

She is driven and maintains a growth mindset, working hard to gain proficiency in areas she is less skilled at, such as military. She spends many hours training in order to excel, and can burn herself out in her determination to succeed. She has high ambitions and is determined to have a meaningful life by making it out of poverty.

Abilities and Skills
Summer has noteworthy acting capabilities, being able to put on false personas at will. This is shown when she pretends to be naive to get Leafsong out of trouble, and when she pulls off a convincing faint to save a squell. She is aided by her "dreg" accent, which results in her being perceived as less intelligent. Her acting capabilities allow her to gain vital information, as people overlook her and think she's easy to push around.

She is also proficient in hacking and technology, which she learned from her mother. She is able to break into computer systems and set up private connections to allow anonymous communication. She uses these skills to investigate Eeksa and later to help gain valuable information.

Leafsong
Summer is Leafsong's best friend. After defending Leafsong from a framejob by bullies, Summer and her grow close. While initially surprised at Leafsong's openness, Summer learned to trust Leafsong more than other people and was willing to confide in her about MiliLabs. She risks her own life to save Leafsong and spends most of her time with her.

Leafsong gives Summer the nickname of "Hacker" to annoy her. After Summer is injured by the seserance and sent to the hospital, Leafsong sneaks in and brings her a bracelet which Summer wears for the rest of the book. Summer saves Leafsong's life by shooting an enemy, and confesses that she is indentured to the villanous MiliLabs to Leafsong. Afterward, they hug and Leafsong brings up the idea of being roommates after Aksel.They dance together at the school dance. Summer stands up for Leafsong in class and gets expelled so she doesn't have to torture her. They leave each other tearfully.

Moonwafer
Summer is friends with Moonwafer through Leafsong, as Moonwafer often chose to hang out with them. She maintains a more distant relationship to him, but gets along and often hangs out with him. At the Union Day dance, the two worked together to help Reema.

Reema
Summer's relationship with Reema was originally fraught with suspicion. Summer encountered Reema in the midst of a crime and helped her to escape, and was shocked to discover that Reema was also a social studies teacher. However, the two were quick to get along. Summer sought Reema out for guidance on whether to trust Eeksa. Despite Reema's warnings, Summer decided to help Eeksa, but she maintained a close bond with Reema. She was devestated after Reema's death.

Eeksa
Summer was disinterested in Eeksa originally, but at Leafsong's encouragement got to know her. After being approached by Eeksa she was suspicious, but decided to join her resistance. She stuck with Eeksa's plans, excepting the order to continue torturing the skeefers, and was usually respectful of her. She was willing to put her dream at risk in order to help Eeksa, and left with her in a Gateway.

Sayra
Sayra and Summer began a hostile relationship almost immediately. Summer was largely ignored by Sayra until her disobedience. After fainting in order to protect a squell, their hostility grew more serious. Sayra constantly threatened to punish and expel Summer, and gave her numerous detentions. Summer rarely showed open defiance but worked with Eeksa to thwart Sayra's plans. She eventually openly defied Sayra's authority after being ordered to shoot Leafsong with xeodis. She was then expelled from the school.

Sylas
Sylas was known to Summer before Aksel. He would often ride to the Spreads to torment her along with his friend group. He spray painted her door and spat at her. After arriving at Aksel, Summer did her best to avoid him, but he took any opportunity to harass her. Leafsong protected Summer from the brunt of his bullying, and for most of the school year Summer managed to avoid major interactions.

Early Life
Summer was born in the Spreads to her parents. She spent her childhood growing up around the poverty in the area and gained knowledge in hacking from her mother, who worked as an ethical hacker. At one point, her family became homeless due to their poverty, but managed to find another apartment where she lived for the rest of her time at home. Determined to escape from the Spreads, she applied for a scholarship to Aksel and was accepted.

Gateway
Summer was faced with the high cost of attending Aksel, and in order to avoid it she signed up for indentured servitude at MiliLabs, agreeing to being tested on in exchange for having her education paid for.

Once she arrived at Aksel, she befriended Leafsong and Moonwafer Kleek. She applied herself to her studies and did well in most subject areas, excepting military. However, her smooth record in Aksel was interrupted after Leafsong encouraged her to investigate Eeksa, the mysterious skeefer that so intrigued Leafsong.

Although originally reluctant, Summer was prompted to investigate after encountering the seserance and witnesing the tragic death of a teenage boy because of it. Summer hacked into the computers and investigated Eeksa with Leafsong. She accompanied Leafsong when they discovered the dead skeefers in Phaphara. Shocked by what she had seen, Summer returned home in a state of disillusionment, and vowed to make a difference if she could. She sought out Reema in order to gain more information, and was eventually approached by Eeksa.

Due to her status as an indentured servant at MiliLabs, she was in a valuable position to steal the seserance. She attended several meetings of The Hope Of Migax, and gained insider information. She disobeyed Eeksa when it came to preserving her status as a student at Aksel, choosing to be expelled rather than torture Leafsong.

The night after her expulsion, she traveled to MiliLabs and successfully stole the seserance by taking it into herself. She managed to harness its power rather than succumb to it, and fled with Eeksa through a Gateway.

Quotes
Leafsong: "You’re not a hacker, are you?”

Summer: "Well, no, but I have hacked some things. Many things. But only when it’s helpful; not anything bad. I just know a lot about computers."