Death of the Author

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of ableism and mental illness.

Two months before publication, Zelu receives early copies of her novel. She posts a picture of the book on social media and gets thousands of “likes” in return. She is amazed by how much attention she can get by posting anything, including trite inspirational quotes. When her Yebo app asks her if she would like to filter her social media reactions, she declines, preferring to see as much engagement as possible. The reactions to her book are overall positive from both readers and critics, who tie it to discourse on artificial intelligence. The buzz goes worldwide, bringing Zelu fame in Nigeria. 

Zelu worries that none of her family members have read her novel. She finds solace in her phone notifications.

In the novel, a protocol code called Rusted Robots directs the NoBodies and Ghosts to destroy all Humes. On her way to Cross River City, Ankara is stunned by the command, attacked by three other robots, and left incapacitated.

Ankara wakes up in the home of an Igbo woman named Ngozi, the last human on Earth. Ankara hears a

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