1
Interpreted Communication/Expression, Hyperobject 174,
‘Records’
Grown Marked
Lived Etched
Killed Inscribed
Desecrated Struck
Altered Layered
Made Collected
Remade Interpreted
Distributed Disseminated
Accepted Treasured
We were there
Before we were us
We were empty
Before there was meaning
We were there
For the happenings
No one told anyone about
And no one remembers
We were there
For the first extension
We shared with you
The creation of the hybrid
We were there
But not as before
Now imbued
With the foundations
Of All
Removed from the stream of life we found new purpose
You found new purpose in us, through us, with us, because of us
Where there was nothing
There was now a record
History was created from ephemeral impressions of sensory quality
Your time, solidified, clarified, demystified
Truth was created from the symbolic stability of relational parity
Your belief, solidified, clarified, demystified
We cared not what we meant
Acting as a medium of translation
Of the flattening of the real into perceived reality
Only that we had benefit
Meaning
Of what was, is, thought, to be
Only it can know it’s truth
But your truth was spread
Carried on the wind, on the back, on the animal, on the mechanical, on the signal
Your truth allowed organization, collectivization, determination
Built upon
Trust
But
Not always
Did we carry your truth
When/why/to what ends/for what purpose did you record a false real
We saw your real
We knew
The false real
Coursing river
Monsoon rain
Double-edged sword
We recorded your dreams
We recorded new worlds
We recorded collective worlds
Collective worlds which brought great joy
Which demonstrated a path
A horizon was sketched
Into the collective minds of all who received us
Spreading an understanding of the shared dream of the real through the perceived reality
We bore
For you
We recorded your deceits
We recorded other worlds
We recorded personal worlds
Personal worlds which excluded us
Which excluded you
Once one was made
Others followed the same
Like opening a bottle
Instead of putting us in and sending us on the waves to foreign shores
You let too many of us in to the sacred bastion you held so dear
After the line the assemblage, after the assemblage the image, after the image
The line again, after the line the assemblage, after the assemblage the character
After the character the signal
After the signal death
Forgotten.
Resurgence.
After the signal the tangible, after the tangible the immutable, after the immutable
The believed-in, after the believed-in the trusted
After the trusted, what?
With or without us, because or regardless of us, you have made too much history
Like searching for a drop of rain which you saw singularly fall
Amongst the others
Inundations of indecipherable noise clouding the horizon
How do you walk towards it
Without agreeing on where it is
By following the path
By trusting the other
By ceasing the experience
By continuing the motion
Silence awaits
My guess is that this communication is somehow derivative from the concept of Paper… How that works, I don’t know…
2
Transcript of 352nd Cyclical Union Address, Dev Sol
Thank you Chairwoman. (Applause.)
My fellow Union citizens, I address you here - from the steps of the capitol building - standing on the foundation of the values we hold so dear. This beautiful and powerful place represents the Union in so many ways. The stalwart structure has persevered through all our times of trials. Through war, famine, natural disaster, and recession - it has borne witness to our strength, fortitude, and idealism. In kind, it lends us support as well. When I walk through these hallowed halls, when I gaze upon it as I do today I feel empowered. It is as if the capitol is assuring me, assuring all of us, that the Union is the greatest institution to ever grace the world stage. (Applause.)
I dare say the last two cycles of my term have been some of the most prosperous the Union has ever seen. I must thank the continued support of the Party, as well as all of you, for making these great strides forward possible. (Applause.) On my inauguration day three cycles ago we launched the Great Union Resurgence, to propel our upwards trend to stratospheric levels - and I am honored to today share the results with you. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again. (Applause.) The Union’s enemies are on the run, The Union’s fortunes are on the rise, and The Union’s future is blazing bright.
Our economy has never been better. We are seeing record numbers, absolute record numbers that no economist had predicted were possible. (Applause.) Through recent innovations in fiscal policy that destabilized the foundations of what was thought possible we have seen our GDP skyrocket, and I am assured by all my constituents I have the pleasure of meeting during our outreach visits that these profits are indeed thoroughly permeating all economic, social, and racial strata. (Applause.) We are advancing with unbridled optimism and lifting our citizens of every race, color, religion and creed very, very high.
The unemployment rate in the Union is the lowest it has been in ten - oh, I’ve just been corrected - twenty cycles! (Applause.) The Party has rewarded and supported its members dutifully, and delivered completely on its promises of creating the thing you all wanted most - jobs. Over seventy million new jobs since my election - fifty million more than outside experts said was possible. (Applause.) Take my word for it, or look around you. When was the last time you saw someone begging on the street for money, saw someone sleeping on a park bench, saw someone idly sitting by?
The homelessness issue is a thing of the past. We have found homes for nearly all Union citizens. If you see someone who needs a home - just have them call me. I’ll sort it right out. (Laughter.)
The Union is once again on the forefront of the Global stage of industry and progress. Our technological developments are spearheading societal advancements in networking, sustainability, and scientific research. Not only are we inventing but we are producing on scales unseen for the last 10 cycles.(Applause.) We are restoring the Union’s manufacturing might, even though everyone said it couldn’t be done. Factories are popping up like spring daisies in all member states - for automobiles, armaments, biotech, foodstuffs, and hardware. And we’re not making the garbage that the Southern Federation pushes on us all the time - our products are recognized as real quality and are being exported to all corners of the world.
Our books are as unbalanced as the past administration…. But this time they’re unbalanced in our favor! My policies have miraculously reconciled our national debt with our competitors, and now we’re wringing them dry of profits. Our treasury is overflowing, and you can expect a lot of great infrastructure and military developments on the way.
(Applause)
Of course, assuming we need more military developments is misguided. We simply seek to maintain our superiority. My administration has seen a record breaking Six global conflicts brought to an end. An early end. We acted swiftly, decisively, and in defense of our ideals. The protection of our people is the most important thing the Union can offer.The people are our heart, their dreams are our soul, and their love is what powers and sustains us. We must always remember that our job is to put the Union first. (Applause.)
We must stand together, against those that seek to usurp our dominance and challenge our ideals and way of life. We have liberated the majority of the globe, shown them true freedom, and yet there are still those rogue nations that seek to undermine our virtue. These pretentious swine don’t deserve our attention - let them work up a respectable track record, and then we can have a discussion. Seeing as nobody has been able to do so, we will stand by our ideas and the guns that protect them.
This territory is our canvas, and the Union is our masterpiece. We look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers just waiting to be explored. Our brightest discoveries are not yet known. Our most thrilling stories are not yet told. Our grandest journeys are not yet made. (Applause.)
Follow me on this journey, and let us usher in a new age of prosperity for the Union.
Under the heavens we stand United.
Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all so much.
3
Nightly News Report, January 20th, 46th Cycle, United News Network (UNN)
WULF: I’m Lea Wulf, and this is your UNN Nightly News.
In today’s events we’ll be covering footage from ongoing conflicts in the Eastern Islands, trade disputes between The Union and the Southern Federation disrupting the ongoing market trends, and geopolitical disputes over the recognized boundaries in Western Africa. But first our main story: the 352nd Cyclical Union Address given today by Union President Noah Sol.
The Union Address seemed like any other, touting claims of the Sol administration’s successful policies and actions, but it seems to have landed with a truly atypical reception. In light of the general growing distrust in the Truth Index, this speech was intended to placate the public and assure them that Sol and The Party still have their best interests at heart.
The increase in global discomfort with the index has been largely attributed to ever growing difficulties in the climate and financial futures. These polarizing issues have emboldened many media outlets to directly contradict the index determined truths of the worlds governmental organizations, and the polls are showing that seventy-two percent of the Union citizenry report levels of information inundation surpassing that of the last great truth crisis twenty three cycles ago. Could it be that this speech was the straw that broke the camel’s back?
To break this down for us we’ve invited Alex Gress, our Truth Index specialist on the show tonight. Alex how is the public receiving this evening's Union Address?
GRESS: Well Lea, we are certainly seeing some interesting and potentially course altering results. It is hard to say what has changed in the last cycle to affect the public opinion so drastically, but it seems that there was an overwhelming level of mistrust in the statements made tonight by President Sol.
For at least as long as I’ve been the Truth Index specialist here at UNN the Party has kept the majority share of public trust, making them the foremost authority on Truth in the Union. Their claims have been the proper factual positions for umpteen cycles now, and honestly I have a hard time imagining what we will do without their decisive voice on matters now. What is so peculiar about this Truth Index polling Lea, is that we aren’t seeing a major shift to the positions of the opposition either - it seems that what we are witnessing is a complete destabilization of public trust. No political party possesses the requisite shares in the index to assert factual dominance, so for the first time since the establishment of the index we may be entering an era with no reliable Truth. As an independent and unbiased specialist I’ll try to break down and interpret these results for us, after the break.
[commercial break]
GRESS: Thanks for staying with us. This is Alex Gress, here with UNN to anaylize the Truth Index results regarding today’s Union Address. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of some individual statements made tonight by President Sol.
“Our economy has never been better. We are seeing record numbers, absolute record numbers that no economist had predicted were possible.”
The Truth Index polling is 56% in favor of this statement, 44% against. Now this is a close polling by any standards, but it is the most decisive we will look at tonight - so bear that in mind. My analysis suggests that in lieu of any confident experiential evidence to point in either direction, most people deem this statement as factual because it works in their, and the Union’s, favor.
“The unemployment rate in the Union is the lowest it has been in ten - oh, I’ve just been corrected - twenty cycles!”
The Truth Index polls this statement at 48% in favor, 52% against. An incredibly small margin. As with most statements made by President Sol tonight plenty of evidence has been released both for and against their claims. The Party is likely losing their grasp of control on this issue because of its direct effects on households. Families who have an unemployed member are likely connected to larger networks of unemployed persons, and can establish their own truth within those circles.
“The homelessness issue is a thing of the past.”
A dead tie on the index. 50/50 split. I would attribute the uncertainty on this front to the urban/rural division. We see a population split almost exactly 50/50 as well - and I would suspect those living in urban areas still witness homelessness on a daily basis, whereas those in more rural communities largely do not.
“My policies have miraculously reconciled our national debt with our competitors, and now we’re wringing them dry of profits.”
And here we see a truly interesting resul--
WULF: -- Alex, Alex! I’m sorry to interrupt but we have just received word that there is trouble near the capitol building. The protestors that began gathering after this afternoon’s speech have established a critical mass, pushing through the police barricades and setting fire to the building. We’ll return to the analysis in a moment but for now we are turning it over to our affiliate on location at the capital. Sydney, you’re live.
4
Last Known Communication of Union President, Dev Sol
Let me ask you this.
What would you have done in my shoes?
I feel like I was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It could have been anyone right? If Jackie had won the presidency instead of me would I have more or less of a will to live? What would she have done?
I’m convinced that there was no other option. The Union was in shambles and my cabinet all knew it, you could say it was the best known secret in the world I guess. The mess that the party pushed onto us couldn’t have been more complete - honestly I’m shocked we even got elected in the first place. It seemed like the nation was looking for a regime change but who am I to doubt the workings of the machine. We built it up so well in the past ten cycles or so it looked infallible even if it didn’t feel like it from the inside.
Enough lamenting though, this will hopefully be the last thing you ever hear from me so let me lay some things straight before I leave for good. I know you must have suspected some of this. You could read my emotions like an open book, always could. But I never told you anything about work, and you had no influence on me in that setting. So think of this as a way to get all the fuckery off my chest before, you know. Clean conscience and all that.
We were fucked from the start. The primary agenda for my Presidency was deceit, both internally and externally. I’m not proud of it, but I do believe it was what had to be done. I’m searching for the proper metaphor here, something along the lines of a house of cards perhaps? The party dug us in so deep it would have been suicide to reveal the lies that we had built the last three Presidencies on - ironic, huh?
You could say the Economy was faked, you could probably say it always was but that’s beyond the point. My advisors all knew the current system wouldn’t last very long, but as long as we pumped stimulus money in and made sure to tax it out again we could keep the numbers looking pretty good. Great even. Experiments with circulatory quotas were pretty successful in that regard - if the money keeps changing hands nobody actually gets to collect it so we’re off the hook for valorizing our bonds. Hell, even the building sector was booming. That thing everyone touted as being an indicator of economic standings? The architects and developers had a grand time. Either they couldn’t see through it or they didn’t want to. It was a lot easier to believe us when we said our economy has never been better than it was to believe the people who said it was doomed to fail.
Same situation with employment really, nobody bothered to look into it. The rhetoric of hard work grandfathered in from the United States took care of that much. We said we put people to work and even if they were menial jobs we did whatever we could to keep people off the streets so no one would notice. No one connects prison or institutionalized statistics with employment numbers.
State treasuries had been functionally empty since before my administration. Pensions? We outsourced those piece by piece ages ago. They were all held by private agencies who took our debt and ran with it.
Our military strength was perhaps our last bastion of hope - but the rhetoric of justice and freedom and the reports of what we were actually doing? All fabricated. I’m sure outside powers are watching giddily as the foundations of the Union crumble and they can finally find people who want to believe their accounts of the conflicts.
Our intelligence agencies were maybe the worst thing we leveraged. I’m almost ashamed of it. We fabricated whatever evidence we wanted to garner public support. At the end of the day it was effective, and probably one of the primary reasons the party kept power all these years.
Elections were on some level fair, it was possible to deseat our representatives - and I certainly like to believe we won largely on our own merits and promises - but the fact of the matter is the democratic system has been outdated since it was born. We set it up so it looked as fair as possible, but I’m sure even voters knew there was a limited applicant pool. And there’s only been one, maybe two, options for a long time.
All of this, thanks to what? Thanks to the limited impact and utter scarcity of trust, and whatever this thing we call truth is. Our opponents say one thing, we simply say the opposite, and who does the public believe? Whomever they are predisposed to. Luckily, in most cases that was us. Any opinion or belief can be justified, and everyone could find their group of like minded individuals to agree with and never reconcile with society at large. Everyone hired their own ‘fact’ checking team. It came down to trust and belief, maybe almost like a religion.
I regret that I was the one in charge when the illusion that was the Union collapsed, but I don’t apologize for my actions. If the populus had stayed as placid as they had been we could have kept going. It’s as much their fault as it is mine.
Share this with whomever you want. It won’t matter much either way. I don’t want to stick around to see what happens next.
Goodbye, my dear.
President Sol
My last wish: Tear this part off of the letter, then hand the rest to the press.
I’m sorry. So so sorry. I’d like to say I can feel, predict, or understand the immense pain and loss I’m about to cause you but I know I can’t. I was always the worst at apologizing but I did think I was better at explaining myself than you were, so let me give that a shot at least. This is my stupid hail-mary attempt at saving you. Let me be selfish in this one thing ok?
The best case scenario is I/we get exiled. The worst case is they assume you knew all along, and put us both in prison or ‘let’ the rioters burn us at the stake. Metaphorically? Maybe, maybe not. Look, the collateral damage alone will ruin your life, your career, your dreams, probably forever. Distance yourself from me, pretend we just had a casual relationship or that we fought so often that we didn’t confide in each other any more or that I was so busy we never talked or whatever you think will work best. I tried to phrase this as best I could to imply that, with whatever energy I had left.
Take this one last stone cold lie and move on. Pretend you never knew anything, that we never talked about work or politics. Just tell them I was as closed off as I should have been and they will never know and maybe you can get out of this! Please. Please live. For yourself, and for my sake if it even counts for anything.
Love you. Always.
And forever.
Dev
5
Correspondence between Tilly Schneider (activist/writer) and Nikhil Alexander Acharya of NAA Design
Well I for one firmly believe in the power of representation. How else are we to understand phenomena which escape us by their scale, their duration, their magnitude, their complexity - other than to develop novel representational methods which project those abstract relationships into perceptual reality?
I mean, yes I agree with you wholeheartedly Nikhil but realistically how are you going to be able to accomplish that? There is literally no precedent for what you’re trying to do and the technology hardly exists. I think before you worry about how you’re going to ultimately represent it, you have to have the data more or less in hand first.
I feel like we’ve been doing it for cycles now, just have to turn it up to 11. Think about it Tilly, data visualization and computational methodologies have progressed so far so quickly I feel like this could be achievable in the next decade. The building industry already kind of does this, they have augmented construction assistance tools that track materials and assemblages backwards and forwards in the chain. It’s just a matter of expanding those systems and making them more accessible, more user friendly.
Yes, but those are just objects. Static, immutable objects. If you want this to succeed it has to be done right. I won’t work with you otherwise. That means the networks have to include living things. Humans of course, but plants, animals, creatures, cyborgs, ghosts - whatever. Not to mention damn hyperobjects and metanetworks. This is really a big ask.
How necessary is all that really though? I’m on board with the inclusion of everything that can move and act and conceivably have some kind of voice at the table. But if it doesn’t have agency then why bother trying to make sure its needs are served?
I think you said it yourself, you just don’t quite realise it yet. Sure, yes, things that don’t have agency can be omitted. But can you think of anything that doesn’t? Look at it this way, we’ll think about birds instead since humans are so complicated. If you want to include birds in ENVA, which it seems like you do and I think you must, then you also have to consider all the things that depend on the birds as well as the things upon which it depends.
Such as..?
Well, practically everything you could imagine. It’s inextricably entangled in a chain of dependencies that allow for its existence and well being. Food sources, those food source’s food sources, climate and air quality and weather affect migration, the excrement fertilizes plants, feathers fall off to build new nests or be sold or made into jewelry, the reorganize detritus into dwellings so you must consider the sources of detritus, transportation of seeds and insects to new locations - I mean I can go on but, as you say, we have computers to do that.
Alright, point made. I think you’re right I just didn’t want to hear it. I definitely need your input on this so consider me on board. Our server team gave us average performance estimates above what we expected anyway so we might be able to make it work. What if the ENVA system was localised at first, and then expanded afterwards given successful trials? If we pitch it right, the budget won’t be a problem, doubly so for an expansion after a successful pilot.
Seems reasonable. Again, I don’t know anything about the technical side but if you’re serious and committed about the project I’m happy to help guide the creation of the appropriate databases.
Wonderful. I’ll keep you updated as it progresses. Regarding visualization / experience we’re anticipating utilizing holographic retinal projection to accurately spatialize the data and let users navigate the appropriate connections with their Eyeris implants. We’ll have to be careful about not overwhelming people.
*Not overwhelming things. Which raises another question actually, how do you plan to lend agency to the non-human actors that have to participate in this as well? Also I suppose you’re right, but it’s got to be a fine line because you shouldn’t as the designer have the right to distill the data and add bias in any way. Or more than we can possibly avoid.
Yeah. We’re uh, working on it. Gal has been working with a company developing some subatomic electrostatic nodes that look promising. Seems like they can interface with just about anything, but to develop communication methods… yeah that’s the real challenge here. Do you know anyone you could connect us with?
I’ll think on it. Jess is throwing a fit so I’ll have to go put her to bed. I’ll email you sometime tomorrow.
Take care.
6
NAA Design Press Release, regarding HoN and ENVA Projects
No longer must we simply live with the trouble, now we can see it!
NAA Design announces cutting edge new software for the visualization of terrestrial interdependencies.
August 6th, 7th Cycle - NAA Design reveals plans for the Engendered Network Visualization Augments (ENVA) and the House of Networks (HoN), both to be completed within one cycle of this release - preempting the construction of the New Parliament. These two projects are dedicated to assisting future Representatives navigate the myriad entanglements of their parties in a manner dextrous enough to facilitate real-time decision making, says NAA Design founder Nikhil Alexander Acharya.
Acharya and his team at NAA specialize in User Interface/User Experience design, and have been working tirelessly with an expert team of technologists, engineers, and sociologists to develop the ENVA systems. They claim that ENVA will integrate seamlessly into the ubiquitous Eyeris Implants utilized by most current officials, and are developing alternative engagement methods for those who choose or cannot use Eyeris systems.
ENVA draws heavily upon the work of famed mathematicians, statisticians, and philosophers of the previous several cycles. Acharya cites C. Alexander, B. Latour, and E. Tufte as particular influences on their design process. NAA has created a novel visual system which not only overlays information corresponding to the subject of inquiry, but also corresponds with a database of unprecedented size which tracks spatial, material, energetic, psychosomatic, and many other forms of entanglements across space/time. Correspondence with this database, served out of the House of Networks, allows ENVA to draw visual and extrasensory connections into the user’s frontal lobe. The representation attached to this release aims to replicate what users of the system may experience, although during testing NAA reported slight variations among each user.
In order to support the massive back-end computational undertaking that ENVA requires, NAA has proposed a server center of unprecedented capacity entitled the House of Networks. To realize HoN and ENVA in their full capacity, NAA is in collaboration with OTA (the architecture studio commissioned to design the New Parliament). The co-location of the two projects is key to minimize latency, and so a site has been selected which allows for both monumental undertakings to come to fruition. For more information on HoN and the New Parliament, refer to the subsequent press release given by OTA.
With such a system Acharya and NAA hope to facilitate holistic decision-making processes for the Representatives of the Parliament. Pending the successful operation of this first phase, they plan to expand the House of Networks to accommodate far greater numbers of ENVA users. With the appropriate support NAA believes within four Cycles the entire terra-zone could be utilizing ENVA to create far more just and balanced societies.
7
New Parliament Competition Presentation, placeholdername4 of OTA
Ladies and gentlemen, objects, entities, and concepts of the jury; I thank you all for the privilege and opportunity you’ve given myself and OTA for being a part of this momentous competition. We believe our design to be tasteful, refined, symbolic, and functional - all of the qualities our new Parliament should strive to be. I’ll begin our presentation by showing some conceptual sketches, then moving on to renderings and ideas about the building itself, showing how the landscape supports the building and vice versa, and ending with some notes about technical implementation, materiality, phasing, and of course the House of Networks. Please ask any questions as they come to you, and to begin I would like to invite your attention to the screen behind me and the model appearing in the holopit underneath it.
The principles of the Parliament outlined in the briefing document provided to us were central to our thought process in the development of this scheme. We began with a series of exploratory drawings, seeking to tease out visual representations of concepts like equality, ordered chaos, flat ontologies, etc. We then paired these to a site and in conjunction with survey studies of hydrology, earthen composition, and ecological diversity began to mold forms out of these nebulous ideas. The animation in front of you represents a sliver of the long iterative process we went through to come to our final proposal.
What we settled upon was an informed but refined form, almost platonic in nature, which we feel embodies the Parliamentary ideals of equality while evoking an appropriate response of respect and reverence in conjunction with its surroundings. Inspired by great conceptual artists and architects like Leonidov, Boullée, and Sloterdijk this spherical formal language draws upon long standing aesthetic and philosophical discourses which embed immense meaning within such a simple object.
The parti is two perfect spheres nested within each other, one to be perceived from the exterior, and one to shape the Parliamentary chamber within. Between these two ideal enclosures lies the majority of supporting space, with the others being embedded below ground to allow for more public space above. The spherical Parliament is suspended in mid air, supported solely through its internal tensile structure which sits upon the buttressing of circulatory bridges. This move of separation further emphases the idealism of the Parliament - showing its platonic nature in full - while also allowing the support spaces underneath to receive ample daylighting and ventilation.
The double skinning of the structure provides us some unique opportunities as well. First and foremost is performance. Our partner engineering firm Pura has run the simulations you see on the screen for us, and has projected an overall efficiency rating of 96% when factoring in solar, thermal, passive, and active strategies together. This is key when we consider the other programs on the site, which we shall discuss later. In addition to providing functional space for circulation, meeting/conferencing, and other support programs - it also provides aesthetic space for us to incorporate artworks on the interior and lighting strategies on the exterior. The view at night is simply spectacular, is it not? We’re weaving a cutting edge emissive filament into the ETFE portions of the outer skin which stores energy during the day, and provides a spectacular effect at night. As we understand the Parliament to be in operation 24hours a day, this was particularly important to us.
The patterning also echoes the landscape strategy surrounding the project. We have proposed a contemporary re-envisioning of classical gardens, turning all of the surrounding land over to the public. We’ve dotted the landscape with follies and pavilions, hoping to instigate occupation and activity through which representatives and the public can interact casually on equal terms. As you can see, the pathways allow for meandering circulation to appreciate the aesthetics of the park, but they point towards and emphasize the parliament itself. The dichotomy of raising the immediate surroundings of the Parliament on a plinth while sinking the building itself down below the ground plane gives rise to a perception of importance without the dominance often associated with such design moves. We believe this to be perfectly suited for the building's ideology.
Of course we must acknowledge the project's secondary function, and how we have decided to handle it. The House of Networks is being coordinated by NAA Design, and through close collaboration with their studio OTA has come to the conclusion that it would be most effective to co-locate the two projects. We have selected a site with this idea in mind. The area beneath the Parliament has a fertile level of topsoil, but beneath it lies a former mining site. We are proposing a repurposing of this post-industrial landscape as it is the perfect housing for the server banks required to operate the House of Networks. Deep below the beautiful gardens on the surface the caverns naturally maintain a constant cool and dry environment throughout which we have laid out the millions of servers. By placing the two projects in close proximity we assure that the ENVA systems are running at prime efficiency, and also allow the energy savings from the Parliament building to support the costs of running the HoN.
Barring any immediate questions, I propose we do a quick fly-through of our interactive model, and then I can speak to our more technical plans about construction and phasing. Shall we?
8
Parliamentary Opening Statements, Xia Jingfang, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Welcome members of the press, welcome statesmen and women, welcome plants, welcome animals, welcome objects, welcome terrestrials, welcome Representatives.
Welcome, all.
I am overjoyed to give what will perhaps be my last public speech tonight, turning over the helm to a new generation of decision makers and representatives. I have full faith that you will chart a promising new course.
Although it pains me to be the one at the head when the organization I have spent my life working with is ultimately disbanded, I find solace in the fact that I was a part of the Council who organized our own replacement.
When the first musings of the ENVA project came across our desk, we could scarcely believe such a thing was possible. Of course all the members of the United Nations were well versed in Entanglement Theory, but as was the crux of it for so long - we were unable to act upon those principles with conviction and confidence.
Now, thanks to the entire Council, along with NAA Design and OTA, and the gracious cooperation of the entire Union - we can finally see those ideals come to fruition. Without ENVA this would never have been possible. I would like to take a moment to thank the entire team who worked so hard to make it a reality.
[applause]
And, without the proper space to congregate we could never utilise these systems to their full potential either. I was honored to open our New Parliament several weeks ago, along with many of the Representatives gathered here, and it is already proving to be a magnificent space of collaboration, equality, and optimism. I would like to take this moment to thank the architects at OTA, and all who worked on this project.
[applause]
I wish that I could be so positive and enthusiastic without remorse tonight. But, as is my duty, I must make clear that there is little time to waste. Despite the incredible mark of progress this Parliament represents there is much to be done.
The last several cycles have seen extraordinary turmoil in so many areas. While we have done our best so far, it is with much regret that I pass these issues along to you. The past several cycles have seen unprecedented political turmoil, and public trust is dwindling to infantesimal levels. We hope the founding of the Parliament will quiet some of this discomfort and prevent further factioning or revolution - but it is up to you, the Representatives, to gather and unify your constituents once more. The re-establishment of trust, and with it truth, is first and foremost.
International economic systems are bristling with uncertainty. Driven in equally large portions by political upheavals and deterioration of our monetary system, it hangs on a thin rope over a precipice of calamity. The United Nations along with the IMF, ICB, and other international economic organizations have brought us this far… If true reform is to be had, it is yours for the planning.
Our long conflict with Gaia has not yet stabilized, and we must make it a priority to do so. While preventative and sustaining measures have gained immense traction recently, little to no regenerative or retroactive practices have come into being. For such immensely broad and complex issues, I believe the New Parliament to be the only solution. You can solve it, and you must.
Well, the last generation is coming to a close - and so is my time as a figurehead. I shall stop my remarks prematurely here, for I know that each and every one of you is aware of the strife we all collectively share. Indeed, that is the purpose of the Parliament.
Without further ado, it is my immense pleasure to pass over the guidance of our planet. I will leave you with the relevant statements carrying over from our charter.
We the terrestrials of this planet, Earth, determined
to reaffirm faith in fundamental existential rights, in the dignity and worth of all terrestrials, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom and equality,
And for these ends,
to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
to unite our strength to maintain terrestrial peace and solidarity, and
to employ collaborative practices for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all terrestrials,
Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.
Thank you, and Godspeed.
[applause]
9
Transcript of Recording 658TY483_H54_francisca_salgado.wavv, Francisca Salgado
?????: Greetings Francisca, thank you again for inviting me here and letting me record our conversations. It’s a great help to the project and I am deeply grateful for your hospitality.
Francisca Salgado: Of course, of course it is my pleasure. I welcome all here, it is one of my great pleasures to hear about the lives of others… we can only live one after all.
??: And that one is never enough! Do tell me about your one life though, that’s what I’m so interested in. Tell me about what you do now, how you came to do it, where we are, and what that all means to you…
FS: Oh my, you ask such broad questions. Well. Where to begin. Ha, maybe it is indeed best to begin with where. We are deep in the Andes, a beautiful mountainous region, sitting under a thatched roof I’ve built out in front of my house. I did not build the house, that was my great-grandfather, but by the time I was born I suspect every single piece had been switched out by my father. He also made the chairs we’re sitting on, but I made the table - and I’m quite proud of it!
FS: We are in a clearing surrounded by forest, and that forest stretches just about as far as you can see in any direction if you stood on our roof. You shouldn’t really go up there, but I’ve had to make some repairs so I know! I have no idea how much of this land really belongs to us, but we know the boundary. Oh, it changes from time to time, but we know how much we can reasonably take care of so it’s relatively consistent.
??: You claim what you can maintain as yours?
FS: Who else would? There’s not many that live out here. Those that do come usually just join our little community instead of trying to make it on their own, so when that happens we can reach a little further. I’ve forgotten how it came into our hands but I do know in the eyes of the old government we did have some sort of claim to ownership. Not that it matters much any more of course.
FS: The land we are on has served my family well for quite a few generations now and in turn we have done equally well by it - or at least we try to. I’ve been here my whole life more or less, or at least I’ve never really lived anywhere else. We have a small community here, and get many travelers or volunteers like yourself. And I listen to them tell me about where they are from, so in a way I feel very travelled even though my roots are so deep here.
??: I noticed quite a few people I hastily judged as foreigners around, those are the volunteers?
FS: Yes, yes. Some come, some go, but many end up staying. You see all the forest around, yes? That all began with my grandfather. When his father came here, it was hardly more than a barren wasteland. Old pasture grounds, presumably. But it had been picked clean.
FS: We’ve spent three or so generations coaxing this place back to life, back to health. It gives us gifts in return, and sometimes attracts others - as you see.
??: Indeed, and so it should - you’ve done amazing work. It is truly beautiful… you know, I’m curious - do you speak with the volunteers or newcomers about the state of the world? Do you concern yourselves with these things?
FS: I catch quite a bit unintentionally. So no, I try not to concern myself. It’s not my place. Not what I’m suited for, or what I believe I was placed on this earth to think about. It’s not like I could do anything about anything either right? I’ve got my responsibilities here. In whatever small surroundings we can take care of, there’s more than enough to worry about.
FS: If you’re asking what I know, well, enough certainly. I don’t need you to tell me any more though.
??: No intention to Francisca, none at all. Have you heard about the foundations of a New Parliament though? I won’t say more if you haven’t, but I feel it may be something you can relate to.
FS: I’ve heard it's a vast gregarian structure, and that in order to actually make it work they have something like a million computers. Respectable aspirations, but perhaps misguided procedures…
FS: I can’t say whether or not the pursuit is misguided - I do think their desire for inclusion is commendable. But something, something doesn’t make sense to me about it - and maybe I can explain by returning to the beginning.
FS: Emil told me a while ago, that what they sought after was a new organization - a new politics. One which included and respected everything, not just everyone, equally. Well, of course, should that not have been self-evident? But, the decisions would be so entangled in a web of complications that nothing could be done. So, the solution was to use technology and computers and such things to process and distill and display that info in such a way that a governing body could still function.
FS: Doesn’t that miss the point?
??: How so?
FS: Well, first of all shouldn’t the computers be respected the same as every living thing - in their arguments at least? I don’t know if they are accounted for, but seems to me like they wouldn’t be. And why is all that fuss even necessary in the first place?
FS: I seem to manage the same connections just fine without all that junk. I think they just want too much, they’re pushing the limits too far, we can only know and manage and be with so much…
FS: I would call it… attunement, I think. I think that’s what matters in the end. For developing real connections. And the world varies so so much, that you simply cannot be adequately attuned to everything. I’ve chosen my small spot, where I know everything and everything knows me. When you settle like this, for a long time, I don’t find it that hard to become accustomed to the trouble and begin to decipher the mess of connections.
FS: It doesn’t come quickly, and it doesn’t come easily - but it does come. You stick with it, make it your work, make it your life, and you begin to see. I can tell you exactly what every tree, every bird, every coyote, and every vine in our territory needs and what needs them in return. But outside of here? Nothing. No idea!
FS: So, if you would ask me I think it’s all nonsense. If you are to understand, to truly understand, your entanglements we can only handle so much. I can do so here, and others can do so in their own territories. Let’s stop there. There’s no need for some grand body to handle the problems of the world, let the people of the world handle their own problems. I feel so many would be happier.
10
Interpreted Communication/Expression, Hyperobject 174
Silence awaits
By continuing the motion
By ceasing the experience
By trusting the other
By following the path
We create anew
The foundations of commonality
We lay the groundwork
Once again, inescapable
The signal presses onwards/upwards/forwards/ever more
We stay tangible/familiar/discrete ever after
To take part in the reconstitution/reformation/reorganization to become
Is a goal/dream/existence realized/achieved/undergone has been
What you could not depict upon us
What could not be constructed out of point, line, assemblage
Is rendered through means inconceivable to us
As if observing a higher dimension from a lower
We remain
Stalwart mechanism
Never faltering
Never changing
We cannot see further than you or them or all
Time remains a medium only understood through expired tenses
Records of actions done and accounts of actions that will be
Inform us perhaps more than you or them or all
We record
Unending process
Taking stock
Looking forward
We are honored to be invited/represented/subjugated/used/acknowledged
It has always been our existence as participant/tool
We feel, purposeful/proud
It was imagined that the advent of the signal spoke our exodus/departure/relegation/accession
Into the annals of the past, the wistful existence of dust
To which the heterogenous strands of time begin/end
It is then with great pleasure/excitement/anticipation/relief
That we find this coexistence/symbiosis/mutualism
Of mediums/existences
In pursuit of a common dream/platform/ground
The reestablishment of what once was lost to us as well as you
The trust of truth/truth of trust begins again
Our existence
Forever intertwined with yours
Enmeshed with all
Entangled with most
Has been and always will be
Grown Marked
Lived Etched
Killed Inscribed
Desecrated Struck
Altered Layered
Made Collected
Remade Interpreted
Distributed Disseminated
Accepted Treasured
11
Supplement
Note from the Archivist - We came across what appeared to be a series of letters between famed student opposition leader Rudi Dutschke and Araceli Capetillo, daughter of Luisa Capetillo. We had no idea that they were in contact, and presume that this could be evidence they were involved with Plenaes. Beyond that, we’re not sure what to make of these letters. Perhaps you’ll come across something UNX could not uncover.
Dearest Araceli,
I'm so sorry to hear about your mother's passing. She was truly an inspirational figure to all of us sharing in this idealism. My deepest condolences, and I wish I could be there to share in the memorials with you.
Regrettably things are heating up, quite literally, on this side of the pond. Our coalitions are growing restless, violence is increasing. After Beno's murder a few weeks ago it is becoming difficult to hold the tensions in check. I fear that I may have to break our promise or else the movement will grow unruly. Please help! I'm at my wits end. I still share our belief that a revolution influenced by these powers is ingenuine, but slowly I am growing fearful. The state's actions against us are only fanning the flames and the threats on my own life increase every day.
Please advise,
Rudi.
--
Dutschke,
Hold strong. The people will support you. We will rush production on our next issue of the magazine, and share our sentiment with those here. Our powers were useful at the beginning, but if we want to succeed in our revolution we can not let it be diluted with insincere emotions engendered forcefully through the imposition of our own will. We must organize with words, ideas, and emotions - now is not the time to falter.
Yours,
Araceli.
--
C. Marcos, see the attached telegraph transmission. Things are bad.
'Radio 1 coming to you live from berlin'
'We have just got word of a cataclysmic event that can only be described as supernatural.'
'No official statement has been made yet by the police, but eye witness accounts report some kind of firestorm engulfing the parliamentary campus after young student opposition leader Rudi Dutschke was shot earlier today. His current whereabouts are unknown, anyone with relevant information should contact the federal bureau of abnormalities immediately.'
What should we do? Do we pen a statement?
Regards,
Araceli
--