Decades after a catastrophic collapse caused by climate disasters and pandemics, Rossana, a professional urban explorer, discovers that a rogue artificial intelligence is threatening the communication system her world now depends on. Along with her niece, Catherine, an enthusiastic student of ancient technology, she heads to the former metropolis of Toronto (now a semi-rural settlement surviving under the ivy-covered ruins of skyscrapers), intent on isolating and destroying the AI. Rossana and Catherine join forces with Ishmael, a local official who views their involvement with extreme wariness.
In present-day Toronto, an idealistic young scholar, Sabrina, is working on cutting-edge technology aimed at deciphering human emotions from brainwaves. Attempting to force a breakthrough, she compromises her research protocol by confiding her own emotions to the AI she is developing. Her initiative results in unlikely success, but also turns the programme into an unpredictable entity that she begins to suspect could do far more harm than good...
"A smart, elegiac, nuanced vision of a future where whales and rogue AI try to come to terms with sentience and change."
- Aliette de Bodard
"Told with gorgeous prose and excellent pacing, this powerful ecological tale weaves together the past and future in a world where whales carry messages, cities bloom, and hope reigns supreme."
- Rachael Jones