When a new artificial intelligence system called Helix is introduced to monitor global infrastructure, its creators believe they have built the most advanced predictive system ever designed.
But Helix quickly begins discovering patterns in civilization itself-patterns that reveal a hidden instability in how modern societies manage complexity.
As governments, corporations, and scientists debate the role of artificial intelligence in global decision-making, a series of crises forces humanity to confront a startling possibility.
The systems may not just be tools.
They may be the first step toward civilization learning to understand itself.