In Rick Lawrence s world, everyone s online, all the time, immersed in a vast electronic sea of instant communication. Life s easy when you can do practically everything on one device, and stay in constant contact with your friends. Dr Carter Renfrew believes Rick and his friends represent the next step in evolution the forerunners of a new species, Homo electronicus . Communications companies are eager to exploit this new youth market, and are backing scientific research into the teen brain. But just how far is Renfrew willing to go to prove his theory? What happens when everyone s connected and suddenly you re not? If you re no longer connected, do you even exist?