The civil war in 2083 is an act of desperation against hopeless odds. The government is utterly ruthless and has all the power. Everyone's activities and communications are constantly monitored, the government controls millions of enforcer and combat robots, and politicians own all entertainment and “news” media.
A mysterious woman is mistaken for a powerful rebel and the government is frantic to assassinate her. She encounters a young, naive robotics engineer and he becomes a target, too. With no weapons he must protect himself and the woman – but how?
This book is not a wild fantasy. It's simply a frightening extrapolation of technical, social and economic trends into the near future.
Two hundred years ago eighty percent of the population worked on farms. Today machines enable two percent of the American population to grow our food. Robotic machines have already taken over most American manufacturing jobs. Even complex engineering tasks are being performed by computers with vast data bases and rapidly improving software. Robot capabilities are advancing at an accelerating pace, thanks to intelligent design while human capabilities slowly change through evolution. Robots are stronger and faster than humans, and soon they will be smarter.
By 2083 ninety-five percent of the population is unemployed and completely dependent on the government. Each person is allotted a humanform server for performing tasks, for amusement, for companionship, and for monitoring each person's activities.