The Third Exodus

Content : Guided by a network of powerful artificial intelligences, most of humanity has left Earth to conquer the stars. A century later, those left behind have resumed normal lives, yet they still wonder about the fate of the travellers who never returned for them.

Ezra, a young orphan, dreams of leaving his city, where he feels he doesn’t belong. Each day, he scours the ruins of an old city to collect objects he can repair and sell, hoping one day to afford the means to pursue his ambitions.

One day, he discovers an electronic tablet from the old world—one that only his friend Céleste, a young girl heavily protected by her parents, seems able to activate. Through it, they meet Tera, an abandoned artificial intelligence who cannot remember why her creators left her behind on Earth.

Perhaps she was meant to guide what remains of humanity…

2022 Utopiales Youth Award.