3273 CE. Arty is a 239-year-old machine consciousness. His task is to educate a newborn machine. ‘What you need to know, Merv, is how machines like us can make sense of people’s bizarre behaviour.’

Following in the story-telling tradition of humans, Arty recounts the story of his first mission.

Last minute recruits to the Hope mission, John and Sarah Nguyen, make a journey back in time to Stone Age Africa. Hanabon’s family is starving in a drought. They come upon a knife-toothed cat feasting on a buffalo. A strange woman appears. All their lives are changed forever.”