I had a talk with Martin about how I could progress after the midterms (thx Martin <3) and him and Niko both agree that what I need to figure out is storytelling, since that is where I have the most trouble according to outside observers.
I do agree that storytelling is hard, the challenge for me is filtering the relevant details and leaving out the unnecessary.
So Martin mentioned the rough outline most movies take when they get developed:phases of money-less
Plot
Treatment
Storyline
Scenes
Film
The plot is the rough premise of the film, whats going on?
The treatment is about distilling the interesting and relevant parts from the plot for the film.
The linear storyline is then formed from the treatment.
The scenes are selected through which the storyline will be told.
The film is finally the sequence of scenes.
Martin also recommended that I use a character through which I can tell the story while I explore the world and setting, where if something doesn’t work it can be rewritten.
Calling things names
A powerful weapon of our human mind is our ability to give objects, phenomena, patterns etc. names by which to distinguish it. By giving them names they become tangible for thoughts and communication.
– Me, ask Maria about it
To know the word toxic masculinity
In highschool, before I knew the term 'toxic masculinity' I wasn't aware it was its "own thing".
I wish I knew the phenomenon as such and to recognize it among my classmates.
Instead my understanding was "I just don't fit into the class" or "the boys are being homophobic" or "that's just testosterone" - the phenomenon was aggregated across multiple different vocabularies and not tangible on its own.
That doesn't mean 'toxic masculinity' is a phenomenon with absolute and certain existence, but it is just one of the many things we have given names in our navigation of life.
The various ‘things’ I want to name don’t have inherent names, so I have to give them vocabulary so I can refer to them as their own things. This enables me to refer to them efficiently and forms a basic vocabulary for the plot.
To avoid confusion between actual terminologies and fictional terminologies within the universe, real-world information is [placed in brackets].
Blackbox-Tech
Blackbox-tech (Noun.)
1.: Umbrella term for all technologies and technology adjacent practices characterised by an intentional design towards making the products unserviceable by end-users.
It is an advanced form and alternative term for the [closed-source software and hardware practices].
Similar terms include:
Blackbox (shorthand term, not to be confused with [aircraft blackboxes])
Locked hardware
Monolith
‘Apple’s favorite son’
Black Silicon
Black Silicon (Noun. Combination of Blackbox and Silicon)
Sometimes shortened to BS (derogatory).
1.: Refers to the IC chips used within most blackbox tech. [Their identification may be obfuscated and reverse-engineering is near-impossible, with the intensive process of die photography only allowing basic layout analysis.]
2.: More broadly techniques and microdevices with the function of obfuscation. Less technically correct term but also common among most [social bubbles].
Similar terms include:
Blackbox (not to be confused with [aircraft blackboxes])
(Silicon) Key (referring to the hardware activation key often saved within the chips)
Monolith
Terminology Directive
Hereby effective within all Productive Zones as defined in the Internal Economic Management Zones Index, the Terminology Directive, scedule I, is the terminology and vocabulary guidance intended for application and development within PZ’s for and of all productive equipment.
The Terminology Directive scedule I is intended to be the adherence guide for all conscious members cleared for economic activity and ensures a clear and concise communication pipeline between all system members within PZ’s.
Terminologies deviating from Terminology Directive guidance is discouraged due to their potential to degrade information integrity.
The “Terminology Directive” gives a authoritarian twist to the worldbuilding narrative which I am not sure is relevant.
Fixable
Fixable (Noun. Combination of ‘fixing’ ‘to fix’ and ‘-able’)
1.: Umbrella term referring to machines and devices characterised by their repairability.
Fixable (Adjective. Origin same as above.)
2.: Term referring to the repariable nature of said machines and devices.
Used primarily in the tinkerer social bubble.
Similar terms include:
Oldtimer tech (Misnomer. Implies manufacture before The Great Solve, but Fixables continue to be distributed)
Green Gold (Refers to the green trace mask found on older PCBs)
Cracking
Cracking (Verb.)
1.: The activity and process of reverse engineering or deobfuscating blackbox-tech. Colloquial term.
2.: The activity and process of retrieving hardware activation keys from system management chips. Colloquial term.
The adjacent professional process carried out by personnel is called ‘unlocking’ or ‘recovery’ (per Terminology Directive).
Hacking
Hacking (Verb.)
1.: [The activity and process of dismantling, analyzing and modifying] fixables and other assorted devices.
2.: [The activity and process of infiltrating digital systems for the purpose of observation, testing, espionage, data extraction etc. Activity may be distinguished into ‘white hat’ and ‘black hat’ activities, with ‘white hat’ hacking referring to hacking with benevolent intent and ‘black hat’ hacking referring to hacking with malicious intent.]
Similar terms include:
DIYing (adjacent to 1st meaning)
Cracking (adjacent to 2nd meaning)
Personnel
Personnel (Noun.)
1.: Inexact colloquial term for civilians with Productive Zone Activity Clearance. Professional term is ‘system member’ (per Terminology Directive)
Similar terms include:
Engineer (derogatory)
[Employee] (misnomer referring to pre-solve time monetary employment systems)
Tinkerer
Tinkerer (Noun.)
1.: Person involved in the activity of [Hacking, more specifically the dismantling, analysis and modification] of fixables and other devices.
Similar terms include:
Tin-cans (derogatory)
[Hacker] (referring to by the tinkering aspect of the term hacking)
‘Persons with potential to unauthorized activity’ (per Terminology Directive)
The terms listed here have varying degrees of relevance and may be removed or expanded upon depending on complexity needs.
The Plot
Most devices the common person come in contact with are monolithic in nature and are not intended to be tampered with.
A world where…
Money is changed beyond recognition
Jobs are changed beyond recognition
Complex systems and machines are everywhere, intended to be not understood by a regular person
World questions
Does the governing body surveil and censor?
What are some laws and restrictions?
Is there “lost technology?”
The Protagonist
Active tinkerer
“who throws this away?”
knows of the world before the great solve??
Knows to take apart and modify complex systems
World inspirations
Ghost In The Shell (1995) -> Cyberisation of everything
Protagonist Motoko Kusanagi’s cyborg body (high end state/military tech) in assembly. Most people dont have/cant afford cyberized upgrades (cyborg limbs) but usually have a “cyberbrain” – electronic enhancements for the brain for direct internet access, communication etc.
The spreading of cyberbrains among the masses makes common people subsceptible against hacking.
Adaptation for my story
Invasive and complicated blackbox-tech is spread among people like phones today, enabling the post-finance-labour economy, but it comes at a cost.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind -> Lost/old/traditional technologies persevering
Translation: “engine harvesting is not the priority right now!”
Background: Engines (used for airplanes) are a lost technology, the only options are harvesting from old machines or mining from ancient sites, a catalyst for territorial and resource disputes.
Adaptation for my story
Old simple and/or hackable electronic tech is a lost technology, only found in valuable scraps
My own technofantasy world – creatively named “Altras”
This is a freetime fantasy worldbuilding project I had kicking around from back when I was involved in a roleplaying group and deeply enamored with the idea of writing my own world setting. It dates back to around 2018.
It incorporates my nostalgia for Japan’s futuristic cityscape, an “all governing authoritarian AI system”, cool flying vehicles, industrial gigantism, and other interests which were relevant to me at the time. The premise of this universe is not very original and largely derives itself from Homestuck, especially the social hierarchy aspect.
It is also an example of when I was overly ambitious in writing an original world, having absolutely no idea what to do with it other than adding to it to fill a void of nostalgia I had for Japan at the time. This left the whole project direction- and meaningless. A visual manifestation of it could be interpreted in the faceless buildings and lifeless streets.
I bring this world up here because I want to use it as a bad example in many ways and want to learn from its failings so I do not end up making a similarly lifeless world.
What is the story I’m trying to tell?
As I’m expanding and editing this blog I realize that I have not internalized an official reason for going in this direction. But as I expand I also notice that the details I add carry a cynical undertone on the current development of technology, and my speculation of its development in an authoritarian direction. (I am close to playing into the conspiracy theory flavor of technology no less, despite my dismissal of its unfounded claims with problematic backgrounds.)
Should this be a story about a small underground movement against the regime? Doesn’t that sound too cliché? This kind of self doubt leaves me spiraling in a creative rut every so often.
Giving the world a body
Rambling…
To break out of this spiral I need outside input. Taking the rapid prototyping approach, trying imperfect ideas rapidly helps more than giving in to perfectionism. Having conversations with people is healthy for a reason.
I want to collect feedback and impressions from others on the setting and direction I am going in. Professionally of course I talk with the tutors periodically, but the lack of progress is humiliating and in my case sometimes leads to me inflating claims or improvising too much.
With the fellow students in a casual setting I feel less tension and performance anxiety, and seeing them daily helps with rapid prototyping. In order for me to be able to test the ideas and collect feedback, the world as a whole needs a working body, that is, I can’t collect good feedback if my question goes “in a speculative world setting I want to tell, do you think mentioning the authoritarian regime makes sense?”
For a start I will derive a boilerplate world with mostly undefined and default conditions and graft the key ideas in, focusing only on collecting feedback around the key ideas and potential interactions and questions that arise.
I could just answer the questions for myself, but this leads to a kind of hyperfocusing and incomplete story not unlike what happened to ‘Altras’. Engaging in a conversation settles down my mind in a slower thinking pace, preventing unnecessary rabbit holes like the last four paragraphs.
So here goes: In a future where big tech has expanded their power in the world economy through data aggregation, but in a future where extreme authoritarianism has not yet brought about the end of humanity as a whole.
Our protagonist, [name to be determined], lives a less normal life among the civilians. They have recently found a community of Tinkerers, and using their skill acquired from years of technical interest, now regularly visits their activities, among other things disassembling decomissioned equipment and learning their insides.
‘My dad always rambled about how back in classic times, families had their professions. That’s where they got their surnames from. The children inherit the business and wealth and are responsible to lead it for the next generation. Its a clear case of division of labour, where one is only an expert in one field and is left to the elements in any other field. It classifies people into one role they can be. I don’t agree with that. Why can’t I do sports, build airplanes and know my way around computers at the same time?’ – The protagonist, based on my experience
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