THE MONUMENT TO THE LABORS
下载所需积分: 5
▍BLANK SPACE宣布了第一届“外太空”比赛的获奖者。在来自40多个国家的投稿中，这些获奖作品通过详细的故事和艺术作品探索了未来可能性和技术突破。
获奖者由15名领先的建筑师、设计师和技术专家组成的评审团选出，其中包括克里斯·哈德菲尔德“Chris Hadfield“、埃杜阿多·特雷索尔迪“Eduardo Tresoldi“、大卫·本杰明“David Benjamin“、克里斯·普雷赫特“Chris Precht“和萨布丽娜·汤普森“Sabrina Thompson“。宇航员克里斯·哈德菲尔德在比赛结果中说道：
“只有通过我们的想象力，我们才能创造变革。未来幻想的科幻成为了今天被接受的现实，从而成为我们站立的历史基石。恭喜所有创意贡献者，你们拓展了我们的思维！”
评审团选择了三名获奖者和12名荣誉提名：
第一名由Charisse Foo获得，作品名为《劳动纪念碑》。Charisse毕业于康奈尔大学建筑学学士，并在纽约市担任CGI设计师。这个提案探索了一个由被囚禁的劳工复兴的半成品和废弃的太空结构的广泛网络。
“毫无感情地叙述，《劳动纪念碑》想象了一个已经被翻译成历史的未来。在这个先驱叙事的重塑中，太空的第一批定居者不仅是勇敢的探险家，还是被判有罪的罪犯。围绕异化和否认他人人性的含义，这个故事同时记录了一座建筑的寿命：卫星、监狱、实验室、工厂、城镇、坟墓、广告牌、景点和象征。这两种叙事将梦想的特权与实验的成本联系在一起。外太空的乌托邦可能性，伟大的未知，不仅是特权阶层的幻想，也是边缘化群体的绝望希望。” -Charisse Foo
第二名由西班牙阿利坎特的年轻建筑师Alberto Carbonell Crespí获得，作品名为《蒲公英的记忆》。这个故事提出了一种用巨大的充满水、空气和种子的闪闪发光的气球来改造火星的方法，以使贫瘠的表面变得肥沃，并让人类第一次不穿太空服登上表面。
“‘蒲公英的记忆’聚焦于某人“生活在待机中”的边缘时刻，悬浮在真空中。外太空对我们对时间微小的概念产生压倒性的影响，最终，命运如何可以将我们推向意想不到的开始。” -Alberto Carbonell Crespí
第三名由Schüco的Virtual Construction Lab获得，作品名为《Planctae》。Schüco的Virtual Construction Lab是一个位于纽约市的多学科办公室，专门设计和可视化复杂的幕墙系统。《Planctae》构想了一个深空旅行者的网络，他们正在创建一个分散式的量子中继网络，研究外太空并尽可能留下最小的足迹。
“‘Planctae’受到了人类精神固有美德和虚拟连接的技术潜力的启发，将其建筑技术聚焦在增强的宇航员需求上，这是一项前往深空的单程任务。虽然先进的人工智能处理着无意识的船上职责，但飞行员通过科学和艺术手段解释收集的数据，虚拟地与其他人分享他们的发现，尽管船舶之间的距离很大。虚拟沉浸永远无法完全取代身体的接近，甚至在经过时间的特殊训练飞行员身上也会造成代价，但是对发现的追求胜过殖民，使他们充满了英雄主义的乐观，将他们与地球联系在一起，他们冒险进入新的地平线。” -Schüco的Virtual Construction Lab
评审团为以下12位荣誉提名者颁发了荣誉奖：Eric & Eva de Broche des Combes、Ioanna Sotiriou、Original Elephant、Korina Filoxenidou和Mariza Tsakona、Madina Zhazylbekova、FLUX.REAL、Alexander Mills和Danielle Fountain、Linus Cheng、Kat Choate和Stephen Smolko II、Nicholas Houser和Gabriel Esquivel、Dana Salama、Zhuoneng Wang和Wai Ching Cheng。
项目名称：THE MONUMENT TO THE LABORS 设计者：Charisse Foo
他们已不再是人类，那么他们还能期望拥有什么权利呢？
这是生死攸关的问题。这是时间的问题。这是，可以这么说，太空的问题。
未来的历史学家会用不同的方式来框定这一切，谈论英雄主义、牺牲和高贵。在“劳动纪念碑”被提出之前，需要一个世纪的时间，还需要半个世纪的时间才能最终完成和揭幕，标志着在银河历史编写中的新统一。还有什么比在星际之间、在星星之间建造更加永久的写作方式呢？在玄武岩纤维加固的火山灰混凝土的宏伟永恒中，用钛合金轮廓勾勒出未被命名的劳工，而是放大了他们的十二项赫拉克勒斯式的劳动。一个年轻的博士生，在低重力的情况下，看到了这位几乎被遗忘的希腊英雄身上的某种既不是神也不是人类的东西：一个外星人，向着永生伸出手来。英雄主义的证明和对错误的赎罪是同一枚硬币的两面。委员会对银河基础设施建设可能并没有完全理解所有这些；他们只是批准了项目高“预测文化价值”评级对低“总建设成本”的批准。数字说明一切。
正是这些数字导致了The Labors的创造，当时称为“提升宇宙科学和知识“BAASK“的基地1-12”。经过2100年世纪的发射事故之后，外太空失去了其魅力。SpaceTrak和SpaceTransit现在陷入了严重的衰退，太空电梯终端的高耸空虚预示着它们的黄金时代的终结。人类退缩了，外太空这片未知的领域落入了那些只有生命可以失去的人手中：罪犯。
这个概念很简单：为人类服务减刑。在太空中存在着机器自动建造的鬼城，半完成状态。太空泡沫已经破裂，劳工被要求将残骸拼凑在一起，以挽救自己的生命：他们要在宇宙中建造自己的空间。BAASK需要建造、采矿、地球化、维护、农业、制造业——殖民的艰苦劳动，依赖于半测试过的生命支持系统。然而，BAASK活动强调了基于人类在太空中生活的实验数据的收集。在失重中享受。在星星的光芒中享受。在无尽的开放太空中享受。在BAASK广告密集的封闭监狱环境中，它们产生了爆炸性的效应。被监禁的人口稳步增长；监狱内的生活条件创历史新低。对所有涉及者来说，BAASK都是一种出路。逃避。每个囚犯都要在太空中服役半个刑期，至少为期五年；在完成刑期后，他们将获得银河公民的地位。星星中的一席之地。申请纷至沓来，也同样迅速获得批准；几周内，成千上万人被运往太空。然而，在离开地球后，所有劳工都失去了他们的地球公民身份、权利和特权：从所有意义上讲，直到成功完成BAASK任务，他们都是外星人。
由于对BAASK项目的严格媒体控制，劳工保持沉默。从未发表过声明，也未授予采访。估计从2110年到2145年，大约有一百万名劳工离开地球前往基地。没有人回来。
事实上，“劳动纪念碑”实际上是一个曾经被称为基地七的废弃太空城市。最古老的存活基地，基地七最初是前罪犯太空大亨Madelyn Rose的财产，她是一名传奇的劳工，于2112年首次作为囚犯进入。基地七是一个短圆柱，中央是无重的柱体，旨在实现1g的伪重力，以供长期定居。设计可容纳1万人，但在最后的日子里，它支持了3万人口。传说中，Rose本人被埋葬在中央，使整个结构成为人类已知的最大墓地。虽然当局已经系统地证明了这个谣言是错误的，但它仍然存在，并无疑有助于“劳动纪念碑”获得的高“预测文化价值”评级，从而使其迅速获得批准。
评论家们或赞扬或讽刺“劳动纪念碑”，称其是对21世纪过时的玻璃盒建筑的公然继承者。在它周围放一个玻璃盒。让玻璃盒漂浮。这栋建筑就是一个灯笼！“劳动纪念碑”就是这一切，争议增加了其高“预测文化价值”评级。它是一个玻璃球，里面是一个城市的废墟，在地球轨道上运行。由核聚变核心供电，它是夜空中的一颗星星。这是一项不可能的工程和材料科学奇迹，用金属玻璃进行覆盖，具有无与伦比的结构强度，并由石墨烯复合纤维保持在一起。这是艺术和科学的奇迹。过去的纪念，未来的原型。建筑由两家领先的太空制造公司赞助，其中一家是Rose的财产所有。这是世界上最大的广告牌。
当Madelyn Rose于2112年抵达时，基地七是一片原始的、未被开发的领土，一半是由现在静静站立的机器建造的，等待着。在从地球上的远程激活下，基地开始旋转，但是——谁知道是错误还是恶意——以5g的伪重力代替1g的伪重力。劳工们被扔进恐慌之中，他们的身体被迫服从。身体摔倒；骨头随心所欲地折断。恐惧、愤怒和绝望在肆虐。在一个星期内，一半的劳工死亡。数据被发送到地球。在混乱中，Rose是五名劳工之一，他们艰难地上到了基地的中央轴，一个无重的柱子，在那里他们堵塞了发动机，使基地停止旋转。在他们下方，曾经弯曲成双的身体现在像婴儿一样在空中游动，睁大眼睛，又害怕又兴奋。随着备用电源的启动，机器人建造队伍开始运作，部署自己来在第一个合适的地点进行3D打印。劳工们在他们新的无重环境中笨拙地搬运着物资，惊叹地看着一个机器人建造的丛林在他们周围长大。地基锚固在所有表面上，房子从中逐层生长。一个新的宇宙诞生了。
Rose本人在权力和威望上崭露头角，她爱上了——或者说结成了联盟？——邻近基地二的领袖Terry Samuels。在获得银河公民权的第一天，Rose与Samuels结婚，并买下了天空——基地七的中央反射柱，她曾经在那里破坏过引擎。这是监视基地中唯一的私人空间，具有单向反射的墙壁，显示出整个城市的环绕。她建立了她的帝国，在这里围绕着她旋转。
在Rose所有权下的半个世纪中，基地七成为蓬勃发展的太空制造业中心，超过了光纤电缆市场，并开创了液态金属的构建方式，这是一种在太空建筑中迅速成为主要材料的金属玻璃合金。随着BAASK逐渐淡出历史，基地七开始容纳3万名工厂工人，通过建造夹层和主体内的嵌套圆筒来将自身加倍。工人们会提到天空降临的那一天，当一个新的天空会出现在他们的头顶上方，比之前更近。天空本身是LED屏幕，显示出地球的天空图像，这是许多工人福利措施之一。基地最终由五个嵌套的圆筒组成，最外层的环以1g的速度旋转。失重将不适合地球的新人。在1g的环中发生一次近乎致命的跌落后，Rose自己再也没有离开过内部的无重柱，她说自己的身体已经变得陌生。是一次惨败，还是一次胜利的加冕？没人敢问。
五年后，Rose将业务迁移到了其中一个新建的卫星。基地七在其失灵的过时状态下被系统地剥离、密封，并被留在轨道上空旋转：这是最便宜的解决方案。正是这个外壳构成了“劳动纪念碑”的核心。
They were no longer human, so what rights could they expect to have?
It was a matter of life and death. It was a matter of time. It was a matter, so to speak, of space.
Future historians would frame it differently, speaking of heroism, sacrifice, and nobility. It would take another century before the Monument to the Labors would be proposed, and another half century before it would be finally completed and unveiled, signaling a new unification in the writing of Galactic history. For what more permanent way of writing was there than building in the heavens, among the stars? Etched in the monumental permanence of basalt-fiber-reinforced regolith concrete, outlined with titanium alloy, the Monument did not recognize the unnamed laborers, but instead magnified their Twelve Herculean Labors. A young doctoral student, in a moment of low-g headiness, had seen in the almost-forgotten Greek hero something that was neither god nor human: an alien, reaching towards immortality. Proof of heroism and penance for wrongdoing were two sides of the same coin. It was unlikely that the Committee for the Construction of Galactic Infrastructure appreciated all this; they had simply approved the project’s high Predicted Cultural Value rating for a low Total Construction Cost. The numbers spoke for themselves.
It had been the numbers that had led to the creation of The Labors, then called Bases 1-12 for the Advancement of Astronautic Science and Knowledge (BAASK). After the 2100 Century Launch Disaster, outer space had lost its glamor. SpaceTrak and SpaceTransit were now in deep recession, and the towering empty bulk of the space elevator terminals spelled the end of their golden age. Humanity retreated, and the undiscovered country of outer space fell to those who had nothing but their lives to lose: the convicts.
The concept was simple: a reduced sentence for service to humanity. Ghost cities existed in space, robotically built, half-complete. The space bubble had burst, and the Laborers were tasked with piecing the remnants together to save their own lives: they were to build their own space in the universe. BAASK needed construction, mining, terraforming, maintenance, farming, manufacturing – the hard labor of colonization, reliant on half-tested life-support systems. Yet the BAASK campaign emphasized the gathering of experimental data based on humans living in space. Bask in weightlessness. Bask in the light of the stars. Bask in endlessly open space. In the closed prison environments where BAASK advertisements were concentrated, they had an explosive effect. The population of the incarcerated had grown steadily; living conditions inside were at an all-time low. To all involved, BAASK was a way out. Escape. Each inmate served half their time in space, for a minimum of five years; after the completion of their sentences, they would be offered the status of Galactic citizens. A place among the stars. Applications poured in and were just as rapidly approved; within weeks, tens of thousands were shipped into space. Upon leaving the Earth, however, all Laborers lost their Earth citizenship, rights, and privileges: for all intents and purposes, until the successful completion of their BAASK term, they were aliens.
Owing to tight media control over the BAASK project, the Laborers were silent. No statements were ever issued, or interviews granted. An estimated one million Laborers left Earth for the Bases from 2110 to 2145. No one returned.
The Monument was, in fact, an abandoned space city that had originated as Base Seven. The oldest surviving Base, Base Seven was the property of ex-convict space tycoon Madelyn Rose, a legendary Laborer who first entered it as a prisoner in 2112. A short cylinder with a central weightless column, Base Seven was a satellite city in low earth orbit, designed to achieve 1g pseudo-gravity for long-term settlement. Designed to house 10,000, it had supported a population of 30,000 in its last days. Legend had it that Rose herself was buried in the center, making the entire structure the largest tomb known to mankind. The rumor had been systematically disproved by the authorities, but it persisted, and undoubtedly contributed to the high Predicted Cultural Value rating the Monument received, enabling its rapid approval.
Critics alternately lauded and lampooned the Monument for being an unabashed successor to passé-21st-century-glass-box-architecture. Put a glass box around it. Float the glass box. The building is a lantern! The Monument was all these things, and the controversy added to its high Predicted Cultural Value rating. It was a glass sphere encasing the ruins of a city, orbiting the Earth. Powered by a nuclear fusion core, it was a star in the night sky. It was an impossibly large feat of engineering and material science, clad with metallic glass with unheard-of structural strength and held together by graphene composite fibers. A marvel of art and science. A monument to the past, a prototype for the future. Construction was sponsored by the two leading space manufacturing companies, one of which was owned by Rose’s estate. It was the largest billboard in the world.
When Madelyn Rose arrived in 2112, Base Seven had been pristine, virgin territory, half constructed by machines that now stood silent, waiting. Upon remote activation from Earth, the Base started spinning, but – who knew if it was a mistake or malice – at a pseudo-gravity of 5g instead of 1g. The Laborers were thrown into a panic as their bodies strained to obey them. Bodies fell; bones broke at whim. Fear, anger, and despair raged. Within a week, half the Laborers were dead. The data was sent to Earth. In the chaos, Rose had been one of five Laborers who had made the excruciating journey up to the central axis of the base, a weightless column, where they had jammed the engines so that the Base stopped spinning. Below them, bodies that had been bent double now swam in the air like babies, wide-eyed, frightened and excited. As backup power kicked in, robotic construction crews whirred into life, deploying themselves to 3D-printing habitats in the first suitable site encountered. The Laborers clumsily hauled supplies in their new weightless world, watching in awe as a robotically-constructed jungle grew up around them. Foundations were anchored to all surfaces and houses sprouted, layer by layer, from them. A new universe was born.
Rose herself rose in power and prestige, falling in love – or was it an alliance? – with Terry Samuels, the leader of neighboring Base Two. On her first day of free Galactic citizenship, she married Samuels and bought over the sky – the perfectly reflective central column of Base Seven, where she had once sabotaged the engines. It was the only private space in the panopticon Base, with one-way mirrored walls that showed the entire city surrounding her. She had built her empire, and here it revolved around her.
For half a century, under Rose’s ownership, Base Seven became the center of the thriving space manufacturing industry, overtaking the market for fiber optic cables, and pioneering the construction of liquid metal, a metallic glass alloy that quickly became a staple for space construction. As BAASK faded into history, Base Seven came to house 30,000 factory workers, doubling in on itself with the construction of mezzanines, nested cylinders inside the main volume. Workers would refer to The Day the Sky Fell, when a new sky would appear above their heads, much nearer than before. The skies themselves were LED screens displaying images of Earth’s skies, one of many worker welfare measures. The Base eventually consisted of five nested cylinders, the outermost ring rotating at 1g. Weightlessness would not suit the newcomers from Earth. After a near-fatal fall in the 1g ring, Rose herself never left the innermost weightless column, saying her body had become alien. A crushing defeat, or crowning victory? No one dared ask.
Five years later, Rose moved operations to one of many newly-constructed satellites. Base Seven, in its malfunctioning obsolescence, was methodically stripped, sealed, and left empty to orbit the Earth: the cheapest solution. It was this shell that formed the core of the Monument to the Labors.
Tourists would not know all this. They whispered that the Monument was engraved with a secret code that Rose created. They whispered that her body still floated in the center of the Base, lit eternally by the newly-installed fusion core. They gazed at the Monument in awe, and shuddered before they could explain why.