In 2040 the video game Thousand Tales offers its players immortality. You can have your brain diced and converted to software, then live in the game's world. There, you can change your body, travel between realms of magic and science fiction, and even visit Earth again with robots. Alma, a teacher in the secessionist "American Free States", managed to buy this service. She's wary of what this new life means, though. Is it really a paradise under the benevolent rule of the game-obsessed AI, Ludo, or a way for people to give up their freedom and escape from the real world that still needs their help? (Set in the world of "Thousand Tales", which currently has three published books on Amazon: "Thousand Tales: How We Won the Game", this book, and the new book "The Digital Coyote".)