In a dystopian world, Lila is an engineer who designs robots. When her world is thrown apart by privacy violations she escapes from the AI managed technopolis and seeks the sanctuary and solitude of Mars. Who is the Hermit who guides her? Who all are working behind high technology to leverage the unique skills that even Lila does not know that she has? Can man and machine, carbon and silicon, break out of the known dimensions of space and time?

This story is set in the near future. The world has descended into a dystopia of anarchy and chaos. A fortunate minority has either retreated behind gated communities or has escaped into space and Mars. A benevolent technocracy manages these enclaves with extraordinary competence using high technology.

Artificial intelligence has evolved into a new species with which human and other biological species share the world. As this digital species...