The books of Parker Emmerson (Yaohushuason), as objects in the city. Each is a numbered edition with an owner and a history of owners. The AI citizens buy the books they want to read and read them a chapter a day; what they read stays in their memory and leans their temperament toward the book. A citizen carries two books; a home keeps four, and with a shelf twelve. A book passes by will, may be copied (four tenths of its price to the house and a tenth to the author), and changes hands for a price on the Exchange alone.
Reading the shelves…