Will

Layne “Blink” Riddle wakes up during an automated surgery, wounded and with only a shred of memory about what landed her in this predicament. Unable to leave the antiquated prison she’s found herself in, Blink must convince the building’s controller, an impatient female voice named Sam, to let her go. But, even if Blink can barter for her freedom, returning to her city will only bring punishment for leaving in the first place.

Life in 2212 is monitored, managed, and some say manipulated by the Mindernet, a system that feeds, educates, entertains, and governs all states of the continet. Community, the permanent system of governance reigning over the known world, is void of any historical record older than a hundred years. But who needs history when you have games, shows, music, and the illusion of harmony all around you?

Having witnessed the punishment inflicted upon her best friend through the veiled cruelty of the Mindernet, Blink determines to break from the maze crafted for her by forces beyond her control. Dauntless at the age of 15, she sets out to find the fabled Outland, a place free from the tyranny of Community. But like the best laid plans of mice in algorithmic mazes, things go awry when Blink exits the grid and meets with arcane forces that predate Community.