City of Seirios is ruled by a religion called the Church of Sol which worships the sun as God of life. After citizens die they are buried into huge and ancient catacombs, which remain uncharted. It is believed that the catacombs are connected to necropolis where the dead can continue living in afterlife without sunlight. As a result of centuries of conservative worldview, science and technology haven't been able to evolve.
An exceptional gifted scientist and engineer Nadie has been declared into anathema for having too revolutionary ideas. She however has quite a few followers with whom she flees to the catacombs to live in exile. As time goes by the community becomes a self-sufficient small city: Noplace, which embraces natural science and arts. The Church of Sol sees Nadie as a threat and this leads to ongoing conflict between the two cities. Even though small by number Noplace can defend itself as it has far more superior knowledge of the catacombs and advanced technology, which seem like magic for the citizens of Seirios.