Eron Osa had faced the ultimate penalty. Not death, but the removal of his fam. Without the digital augmentation of his brain by his electronic familiar, he can barely function amid the bewildering complexities of everyday 761st-century life on Splendid Wisdom. Here, on the capital world of the Milky Way in the 14,810th year of the Galactic Era, sixteen centuries and fifty three years after the founding of the Second Empire, everyone from the meanest citizen to the ruling Pscholars has depended upon a fam since childhood. Without one, simply navigating the streets and levels of Splendid Wisdom's world-filling megalopolis becomes a paralyzing challenge. Lost along with such everyday survival skills were many of Eron's memories, his professional expertise and specialized knowledge. Now he can't even remember his profession. The crime he committed must have been terrible to warrant such a dreadful punishment. If only he could remember what it was!