What does it mean to be human in a digital era, and should the idea of humanity be advanced with weapons if necessary? What idea justifies the use of lethal force against other humans? When human civilization is caught up in its contradictions under the Separation Act, it faces an ultimate choice from which it cannot escape. But after the misguided steps of the Early Years, it is a civilization both flamboyant and faltering that faces this critical choice in an explosion of enmity and violence. A civilization flamboyant in science, military might and technological power, but faltering under the weight of its past mistakes and the relentless onslaught of artificially intelligent beings. Book 1 tells the story of Trackers, big and small.