The plague destroyed almost the entire population of the Earth; only the citizens of the Island Republic managed to survive, isolating themselves from the outside world. Scared to death, they shoot down approaching planes, sink ships, and shoot anyone who dares to approach the island. And then a young man named Adam Ford saves a half-dead refugee who arrived on a boat... Adam Ford has been dead for a long time. Now Anaximander appears before the Examiners, showing them an installation from those distant times. Her goal: to get into the prestigious Academy. Its theme: the deeds of Adam and his rebellion against the Republic. She feels a strange closeness, an invisible connection with Adam, but does not yet imagine the full danger of her position.