The City And The Stars by Arthur C. Clarke

Because of this, he seeks answers, but despite the wealth of knowledge Diaspar holds, his past and his purpose remain a mystery. For a start, he has no knowledge of his past lives as everyone else does.

That is until the protagonist Alvin is birthed. It is completely cut off from the outside world, and the people seem to have an unexplainable fear or repulsion of change and of the outside. Life for humanity has gone on under the dome of Diaspar for seemingly thousands of years without changing. No new people are born, instead, each person's genetics are recycled periodically as determined by the central computer, the city’s over-arching artificial intelligence. However, with this ‘perfected’ society comes stagnation. They invest their time in the arts, music, or whatever pursuits of passion they so desire. The inhabitants lead lives of leisure, free of the stresses and fears of life. This city then is the realisation of the opposite.) (Interesting sidebar: the name Diaspar is derived from the word diaspora which means the dispersion or spread of people from their original homeland.

In response, humanity retreated, withdrew from the stars and built a city, enclosed, safe and hidden, it was called Diaspar. Millennia ago an unknown threat, that we are led to believe to be an interstellar war, nearly annihilated humanity. The City and The Stars by Arthur C Clarke is an interesting tale, not without its flaws.

The City And The Stars by Arthur C. Clarke