technological-omniscience

The chapter 'Preamble' introduces a near-future Earth on the cusp of a new millennium, where longstanding issues like injustice, war, and disorder appear to be slowly resolving. This positive transformation is secretly orchestrated by Laurent Michaelmas, who, with the aid of Domino, a supercomputer originally designed to bypass telephone charges, manipulates political and economic systems to create a more just and stable world. The narrative sets up Michaelmas and Domino as a solitary, godlike force overseeing humanity's fate, highlighting themes of media manipulation and the ethical complexities of centralized control.