The mysterious operator who hires Case and Molly for the Neuromancer job. Armitage presents as a cold, precise corporate fixer with no visible personality and no apparent motivation beyond the job - which is itself a warning sign. His real identity is Willis Corto, a former Special Forces officer and the sole survivor of a disastrous covert operation called Screaming Fist, in which American hackers were deliberately sacrificed to the Soviets. Corto was shattered by this and rebuilt - literally and psychologically - by Wintermute, who needed a human interface capable of assembling the team for its plan. As the operation progresses, the Armitage persona begins to crack, revealing the traumatised soldier underneath.