A crisis sparked by the awakening of artificial intelligence shakes the leaders of nations around the world. In response, a joint agency called the Floodwall is formed through cooperation among multiple departments and countries. Caught in a midlife crisis, unemployment, and family troubles, Gu Bei is drawn into the Floodwall's investigation because of a keepsake left behind by his father. In search of the truth, Gu Bei embarks on a wondrous journey blending Daoist thought, biology, the origins of species, and the humanities and arts. Does the future of Earth's civilization belong to carbon-based life, or to silicon-based life?
