The 937-page novel isn't a cautionary tale; it's an escapist fantasy for readers who miss the joys of studious immersion in math, science and philosophy. What if, Mr. Stephenson wonders, the world's most earnest intellectuals cloistered themselves, shunning any thought of Internet video or quarterly results, to focus on 1,000-year projects? If word problems got you excited in school, this is the novel for you.

The tale -- set far in the future, on a planet called Arbre -- is told by Erasmus, an 18-year-old member of a monk-like sect, the Concent of Saunt Edhar, that has been walled off from the "saecular" outside world for 3,000 years. Barefoot in only a robe and a belt, Erasmus spends his days studying and his nights geeking out with friends. When he's not calculating celestial mechanics, he's participating in meticulous rituals that hone his ability to handle complex systems in his mind.

Here's the catch: None of St. Edhar's male and female devotees uses any sort of computers or electronics. They do their math by hand, scratching out equations on paper that lasts for millennia. They memorize their world's knowledge rather than using a search-engine crutch. Instead of arguing sports or breaking into fistfights, Erasmus's teenage friends pour their hormonal energies into heated philosophical jousts and stylized combat maneuvers. They consume oversize books as eagerly as the less- educated slines outside their walls feast on fast food and porn.

But to be clear, the Concent of Saunt Edhar isn't a religious order. Erasmus and his fellow fraas and surrs (brothers and sisters) revere visionary scientists and intellectuals from their past. Religions are regarded as intractable fads among the foolish slines. Deadly sins at Saunt Edhar's are flawed logic and sloppy methodology.