On Tuesday, July 17, 2057, Kyle Tate becomes the first human being to successfully transfer his mind from his own brain into a computer and then return safely to his physical body. An Autonomous Network of interlinked, Autonomous Nodes, upon which Autonomous virtual entities and their homescapes reside, is born.

It isn't long before the authorities begin to pick up hints of this revolutionary technology. Realizing just how great a threat these Autonomous virtual entities pose to their power base, the authorities are quick to act. Citing the hundreds of Patents the Autonomy Interface and Node hardware alone violate, not to mention the numerous software patents the underlying operating system almost certainly violates as well, the full force of Intellectual Property Law is brought to bear upon these innovative idealists, threatening to destroy them and their work.

After decades of simmering tension and occasional legal skirmishes, the war between Freedom of Thought and Intellectual Property begins in earnest.