Radiation has transformed the surface. Humanity's survival depends on a hallucinogenic fungus known as “psionic spores.” It is both an energy source and a drug, and prolonged use causes bodily mutations. The sky city of “Zion” is completely isolated from the wasteland of “District Nine.” Air, water, and even “hope” are scarce resources rationed according to social class. “Everything has a price; without money, you're livestock.” The world runs on an unforgiving “psionic credit” System, where the law has been twisted into “commercial contracts.” Murder and robbery are legal as long as you pay enough in “liquidated damages.” The protagonist Lin Qi's ability to “steal” is the ultimate desecration of this money-worshipping order. To cope with the intense demands of “rule analysis,” he is gradually losing his human emotions. Pain, fear, and love leave him numb. This “dehumanization” is both his weapon and the danger that he may ultimately fall and become a monster.
