Indebted to Gaia Vince''s New Scientist article ''Surviving in a Warmer World'', Paul di Filippo''s story depicts the life of Aurbindo Bandjalang in the climate change-ravaged planet of the Anthropocene Age. A member of the Reboot Civilisation, ''AB'' is part of a new configuration of humanity, nine billion people crowded together in densely populated, high-rise areas on the quarter of the Earth''s present-day land mass that remains above water. Di Filippo imagines a world in which the Earth''s resources are pushed to their very limits and the human race, while dependent on the all-powerful Sun for its survival, is also subject to its devastating effect on Earth''s climate.
