To answer the deceptively simple question of why she wants to enter the Academy, Anaximander finds she must struggle with everything she has ever known about herself and her beloved island Republic's history. What is the nature of being human, of being conscious? What does it mean to have a soul? And when everything has been laid bare, she must confront the Republic's last great secret, her own surprising link to its twenty-first century hero Adam Forde, and the horrifying truth about her world.Anax thinks she knows her history. Shed better. Shes now facing three Examiners, and her grueling all-day Examination has just begun. If she passes, shell be admitted into the Academythe elite governing institution of her utopian society. But Anax is about to discover that for all her learning, the history shes been taught isnt the whole story. And that the Academy isnt what she believes it to be. Anaxs examination leads to unresolved questions raised by science and philosophy. Centuries old, these questions have gained new urgency in the face of rapidly developing technology. What is consciousness? What makes us human? If artificial intelligence were developed to a high enough capability, what special status could humanity still claim?--From publisher's description.