Lieutenant Commander Shiro Sanada brings an illustrated copy of The Heart of Agent 9 with him on the first voyage of the space battleship Yamato in 2199. Following an incident involving the robot Analyzer and the destruction of Analyzer's fellow robot and friend, Alter, Sanada reads the book for its themes of loneliness and machine sentience. Under a pseudonym, Sanada asks Assistant Warrant Officer Yuria Misaki to read a version of the story on her YRA Radio Yamato program ("Clockwork Prisoner").