The Reality Dysfunction (Night's Dawn, #1)

by Peter F. Hamilton

Like all of us will eventually, Sly-minx, even you. You mean he will lose hope. No. Death is the loss of hope, everything else is merely despair.

Scanning back and forth he couldn’t see anyone labouring in the pristine gardens, or sweeping the streets; no people, no bitek servitors, no mechanoids. The nearest anyone came to work was the café proprietors, and they seemed cheerful enough, chatting and laughing with their customers. All generals and no privates, he thought to himself. It isn’t real.