This novella is so beautiful. It imagines a world where Robots first become self aware and then excuse themselves from human society to live in the wilderness. Since that time humanity has learned to live an existence that is gentler and more in harmony with nature, but for the monk, Sibling Dex something is still missing. They first become a tea monk, and then go on a journey into the wilderness to seek out a hermitage that has been left abandoned to the elements for 200 years. Along the way they become the first human to make contact with a robot, since the robots removed themselves from society.

It's a beautifully written story about what it means to have purpose and to live in the world. I loved the imagining of a world where humanity find a way to live in harmony with nature.