52 pages 1 hour read

Kim Stanley Robinson

New York 2140

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Parts 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter A Summary: “Mutt and Jeff”

Two men who call each other Mutt and Jeff argue about the semantics of money and value, referring to the market that sets prices as the invisible hand. They have been evicted and are living in a tent on the roof of the old Met Life tower.

They debate the merits of the 16 financial laws enacted by the World Trade Order and the G20. Jeff says that the laws are only code, and that all code can be altered.

Mutt and Jeff work long hours writing code for high-frequency trading computers downtown. Jeff has written 16 revisions to financial law, which he can encode into the existing system. Mutt reads the codes and agrees that they could work. Jeff pushes a button and activates the codes. The men go outside and look down at the Manhattan cityscape. Hearing a ping from inside their tent, Jeff looks at his computer and realizes that they have been detected. 

Mutt and Jeff know they have to leave quickly to go into hiding in the city. 

Part 1, Chapter B Summary: “Inspector Gen”

Inspector Gen Octaviasdottir is working late in her office. Charlotte Armstrong tells her that two men from the Met Tower co-op have gone missing.