The moment Neurobiologists discovered how to copy human memories to a hard drive, mankind began abandoning the physical world for a virtual reality called Second Life. In the wake of a growing shortage in memory storage, it was decided to minimize human interaction, and speech was outlawed. Finally, in the physical reality remained only those who were responsible for the ascension of humanity to a virtual paradise. Daneel, an experienced upload technician, teaches a young worker named Ariel how to speak, and in a world empty of people - flickers one last spark of humanity.