And so it is said in the book.
The details might differ, but it's worth thinking about whether the implications make sense. Watt's certainly asks a lot of good questions which other orders have also asked - i.e. Accelerando[1] is very interested in the idea of "what happens to mankind when economic systems can no longer be participated in by recognizably human minds?" - taken out to the limits of known physics.
[1] https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/acceler...
^^^ You read the full-text here, I highly recommend it.