At the end of the 19th Century, technology has allowed the British Empire to conquer the skies and the oceans, but no machine can overcome death. When a young assassin named Yu Sharpe is dispatched to Hong Kong, her task is to hunt down a man who holds the secret to immortality. What she finds will force her to face the one death that still haunts her. "Bitter Pill" is a steampunk short story inspired by Chinese mythology and the Six-Day War of 1899.