Argoland is a city-state, located on the shores of lake Tibigan. The countryside is said to be uninhabited with farms operated by robots. The novel alludes that the whole humanity lives in such cities and leaving a city is not possible (vehicles used by the citizens of Argoland cease to operate at the city borders). Travel between city-states is possible but restricted and therefore not available to general population. However, people at large seem not interested in leaving their city being sure that life in other city-states is exactly the same as in theirs.