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In the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Mortati feels uneasy as the conclave begins under ominous circumstances. Thirty minutes earlier, Camerlegno Carlo Ventresca entered, led the opening prayer, and told the assembled cardinals that the four preferiti are not present. When questioned about their location, safety, or return, the camerlegno repeatedly says he cannot honestly answer and urges the cardinals to have faith.

After the camerlegno leaves, the Sistine Chapel doors are sealed from the outside according to custom, with Swiss Guards stationed beyond them. Mortati knows the doors can only be opened before a pope is elected if someone inside becomes deathly ill or if the missing preferiti arrive. Troubled but guided by the camerlegno’s instruction to proceed, Mortati begins the first vote.

The cardinals complete the prescribed balloting ritual in order of seniority. Each cardinal kneels, swears before Christ that the vote is sincere, displays the ballot, and uses a plate to drop it into the chalice so no one can secretly submit multiple ballots.

Once the final ballot is cast, Mortati mixes the ballots and reads them aloud one by one. He threads each ballot onto a line and records each vote in a log. Very quickly, Mortati realizes the vote will fail, because the first seven ballots name seven different cardinals.

Mortati understands the scattered voting as a deliberate stall rather than vanity. The cardinals are likely voting defensively, even for themselves, to prevent any candidate from achieving consensus while they wait for the missing preferiti.

After tallying the final ballot, Mortati declares the vote failed. He ties the ballots into a ring, burns them with chemicals that produce black smoke, and sends the traditional signal through the chapel chimney: the first ballot has ended with no pope elected.