If astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson is correct, we are living in a computer simulation created and operated by "some snot-nosed kid sitting in front of his computer in the basement of his parents' house in an alien civilization." In this book, "The Kid" tells us about the planet Apex, and how it became extremely polarized over the years until it looked a lot like our planet Earth does today - so polarized that nuclear war eventually made the planet's surface uninhabitable and forced its humanoid population underground where they went through drastic changes to their bodies, including losing the ability to feel any emotions. The nuclear war also caused Apex to change positions in our galaxy, winding up in the constellation of Zeta Reticuli. When the Zeta Reticuli resurfaced again, they began the process of trying to recover the ability to feel, and The Powers That Be asked for help from the younger children as well. As a science project, The Kid (thirteen Earth-years old) created an ancestor simulation of Apex, starting around 1940, calling it Earth. It was through this simulation that the Zeta Reticuli hoped to find answers for their own challenged future, and in turn assist the Earthlings in avoiding the same nuclear destruction that Apex experienced.