A bullet locket is a small keepsake made from a spent or unused bullet casing, used by some soldiers and resistance fighters and survivors as a personal token or symbol of survival. Suicide teaches JT Austin how to make one for some of Lizzy‘s ashes during their time on the run from the Gelt, turning it into a rite of passage and a way to stay grounded amid chaos.
Unlike traditional bullets, Compact-era ammunition uses a compressed gel propellant rather than gunpowder. Suicide instructs JT to carefully extract the gel from a cartridge before it is fired. Once the casing is empty and safe, the bullet tip is removed or reshaped, and a small item—such as a ashes of the deceased, scrap of cloth, a lock of hair, or a written note—can be inserted. The bullet is then sealed and drilled or notched so it can be worn as a necklace or carried as a charm.
Suicide wears two, one for her husband and first spouse, killed in the Polygamy Wars, and for a wife who died on Aphrodite. For JT, it is a piece of Lizzy after her death and a reminder of the promise he made to her to take back her family’s farm.