PLANCTAE
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▍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：PLANCTAE 设计者：Virtual Construction Lab of Schüco
宁静的虚空闪烁着远处星星的光芒，处于生命未知的处女太空中。然后，第一次有一物体稳定地飘入了这片虚无的区域，从一个光点变成一个小物体，最终变成了一个金属太空飞船。相对于独自一人的乘客来说，这艘航天飞船相对较大，但它就像大海中的浮游生物一样漂浮在广袤的虚空中。它的形状是精确和有序的，专门设计用于——并在——太空的真空中建造，永远不会担心曾经束缚早期飞船的大气压力。在它的船体上刻着名字“TVC-15”，这是这里没有人会知道的一个标识。
它的旅程并不是被一个漫无目的的力量推动，寻求从一个被遗忘的世界中逃脱，而是一个经过精心计算的矢量，从现在遥远的——和深受喜爱的——太阳系中螺旋出来。乘客的使命不是征服或殖民，而是观察和研究，以尽可能小的足迹记录太空的最深处。
然后，从TVC-15的船体上出现了一个小卫星，它发出一脉冲能量，改变了它的航向，使它从母船的矢量变为一个相对静止的位置，在原地旋转，就像陀螺一样，而母船则继续前进。卫星是这艘飞船在其航行后留下的少数几个物理痕迹之一，这是保持其驾驶员与整个银河系中的其他旅行者连接的必要基础设施之一。因为虽然这艘飞船在它的领域里是孤独的，但数十位其他勇敢的个体在深空旅行的网络中驾驶着类似的飞船，进行为了物种利益的单程旅行。
随着每艘飞船不断地向外航行，它们留下的卫星形成了一个分散的量子中继网络。这些面包屑以能够消除旅行者之间巨大距离的速度传输信息，并且渗透到每个独自的居民中，带有一本知识库和一群同行的人，克服了他们处境的物理限制。这种大规模的数据共享不是通过有意识的日志来实现的，而是在旅行者入睡时进行的，它们的增强大脑与“大脑神经网络”同步；当他们做梦并处理一天的学习时，他们的思想会更新，以反映同事们在太空中的发现。
与其取代每位旅行者的人性，这种增强反而使之更加精炼，因为为了真正记录所有那些存在，每位旅行者都需要成为一个典型：人类固有的洞察力和潜力的微观体现。作为科学家，人们以有条理的方式积累和分析数据。作为艺术家，人们将可见的不可避免的模态解释为推进文化遗产的形式。作为灵修者，人们反思旅程的过程和目的，在存在的恐惧面前找到内在的力量。作为爱人，人们通过外部交流找到意义和力量，珍视别人因为它们在相互温暖中的原始自我。作为英雄，人们将他人的需求置于自己之上，做出必要的牺牲来改善人类。由于他们的增强思维，每位旅行者都体现了所有这些角色和更多，形成了整体，其价值大于其各个部分的总和。
为了记录、创造和反思，每位旅行者将自己的思维转向了虚拟的表达领域，因为无论船体有多大——它的虚拟限制都永远不会令人满意。与过去的虚拟现实程序不同，每艘飞船都配备了一个与物理世界不可区分的身临其境的现实程序。通过与他们的睡眠舱相同的连接，旅行者可以访问这个虚拟现实环境，取而代之的是船舶的现实，持续数小时。该程序为记录一天的工作提供了任何可以预见的表达需求，同时提供了一系列社交和娱乐设施，使旅行者以每一种自然的方式进行互动，甚至可以联系到仍然停留在平地上的遥远亲戚。
当卫星从TVC-15的视野中消失，缩小成一个光点，另一个物体出现在视野中，从后方侵入飞船。这是在前一个月进行的行星勘测中发出的一架探测器，现在正在返回以传递其任务的发现。探测器在一个无声的、流畅的操作中进入了飞船的船体。进入后，它被管理飞船的自主功能的人工智能进行了除污。探测器的设计复杂，前面有灵活的肢体，背后有一个大容器。在除污后，容器倒出了一些收集到的资源，AI可以用这些资源来重新补充供应品、充电电池、建造额外的卫星，并继续进行长期的旅程。同时，还将一些样本送到飞船的实验室，以准备好进行下一个任务。探测器是这艘飞船中唯一适合进入外界大气层的元素，设计复杂，并受到严密监控，以防止任何前后污染。当它执行任务时，旅行者可以选择通过虚拟现实体验到探测器，亲自探索未被触及的世界，实现了一个梦想。
随着梦想家从沉睡中平静地浮动在睡眠舱中，将一天的洞察和领悟与同行的发现同步。房间变得漆黑，寂静统治着一切，船继续前进，从一个大金属飞船缩小到一个小物体，最终消失不见，就像它发现的一样，闪烁着远处星星的光芒。
The tranquil void twinkled with the light of distant stars; virgin space uncharted by life. Then, for the first time, something drifted steadily into the sector of nothingness, growing from a point of light into a small object and then finally to a metallic space craft. The shuttle was large relative to its solitary passenger, but it sat in the great void like a plankton in the ocean. Its shape was calculated and orderly, designed exclusively for – and built within – the vacuum of space, never fearing the pressure of atmospheres that had tethered earlier crafts. Across its hull read the name “TVC-15,” an identification for no one out here.
Its journey was not propelled by an aimless force seeking escape from a forgotten world, but rather a carefully charted vector that spiraled out from a now-distant – and much beloved – solar system. The mission of its passenger was not one of conquest or colonization, but rather of observation and study, to document the deepest expanses of space in a manner that left as small a footprint as possible.
Then, from the hull of the TVC-15 came the silent birth of a small satellite, which let out a pulse of energy to alter its course from the vector of its mother ship to a relatively stationary position, rotating in place like a top as the parent continued on its journey. The satellite was one of the few physical traces left in the craft’s wake, a necessary piece of infrastructure to keep its pilot connected to other travelers across the galaxy. For while this craft was alone in its sector, dozens of other intrepid individuals piloted similar vessels in a web of deep space travel, one-way journeys for the good of their species.
As each vessel navigated its way ever outward, the satellites they left behind formed a decentralized network of quantum relays. These breadcrumbs transmitted information at speeds that eliminated the immense distance between travelers and permeated each solitary inhabitant with a library of knowledge and a community of peers, overcoming the physical confines of their situation. This great sharing of data did not occur through conscious logs but rather while the traveler slept, synchronizing their augmented brain with The Great Neural Network; as they dreamed and processed the day’s study, their mind updated to reflect the findings of their colleagues in space.
Rather than replace each traveler’s humanity, this augmentation refined it, for to truly document all that was out there each traveler needed to be an archetype: a microcosm of the insight and potential inherent in mankind. As the scientist, one accumulated and analyzed data in a regimented fashion. As the artist, one interpreted the ineluctable modality of the visible into forms that advanced cultural heritage. As the spiritualist, one reflected on the process and purpose of the journey, finding internal strength in the looming face of existential dread. As the lover, one found meaning and strength in external exchanges, cherishing others for being themselves in reciprocated warmth. As the hero, one put the needs of others above their own, making the sacrifices necessary to better humanity. Thanks to their augmented minds, each traveler embodied all these personas and more, in a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
To document, create, and reflect, each traveler turned their minds to virtual realms of expression, as the physical limits of the vessel – no matter how large it was – would never prove satisfactory. Unlike the virtual reality programs of the past, each vessel was equipped with a vicarious reality program indistinguishable from the physical world. Through the same link-up as their sleep chamber, the traveler could access this VR environment, replacing the reality of their ship for hours at a time. The program provided for any foreseeable need of expression with which to document the day’s work, as well as a slew of social and recreational accommodations to let travelers interact in every natural fashion, or even reach out to distant relatives still anchored to flatlands.
As the satellite fell out of sight from the TVC-15, shrinking to a point of light, another object came into view, encroaching on the ship from behind. It was a probe sent out in the prior month on a planetary survey, now returning to relay the findings of its mission. The probe entered the hull of the ship in a silent, fluid operation. Upon entering, it was decontaminated by the artificial intelligence that managed the space craft’s autonomous functions. The probe was complex in its design, featuring articulate limbs on its front and a large container on its back. After decontamination, the container emptied out a selection of gathered resources with which the AI could restock supplies, refuel power batteries, build additional satellites, and continue the long term journey. Several samples were also sent to the ship’s lab as the probe was readied for its next mission. The probe was the only element of the craft suitable to enter foreign atmospheres, robust in design and closely monitored to prevent any forward or backward contamination. As it went about its missions, the traveler could choose to embody the probe through VR, to seek and explore untouched worlds firsthand in a dream made manifest. For the travelers, sending probes to other celestial bodies allowed them to immerse into a world without ever disturbing it.
The craft’s artificial gravity resumed power as the traveler rose from their slumber and unplugged from the sleep chamber, alert and refreshed. Dynamic lighting schedules brightened the ship in an artificial sunrise, invigorating the traveler with golden morning light. The AI greeted the explorer and proceeded to check their vitals, charting the trip’s impact on long term health and ensuring the augmented mind bore no deviation from the mission’s core goals. The explorer freshened up in the washroom, ate a nutritious meal, exercised, and watered a crop of plants before moving onto the day’s work. These banal activities might seem trivial to grounded audiences, but such routines had to be precise in their recreation to design as comfortable a life for the inhabitant as possible.
The morning routine bled into a day filled with activity: studying the samples in the lab; interpreting the findings in VR sculptures, sonnets, and gardens; giving a class in Chicago a tour of the ship and lecture on the mission through VR telepresence; reading another chapter in their Ocean Steamships book; reviewing the month’s schedule with the AI; gazing outside for a long time; eating an evening meal; reciting a Carducci poem to the traveler from TVC-04 in a lovely Tuscan villa; meditating in a darkened room; listening to a classical music album from the 1970s; living a normal life, at least as normal as the situation allowed.
Many explorers did not maintain familial ties to the flatlands, as they called their former planet, but felt a strong connection rather to the spirit of humanity, its cosmic soul in a sense. They performed their work out of a sense of commitment to this soul, a duty to navigate the wandering rocks of the universe no matter the personal toll. This commitment was not one that was easy to sympathize with, except in the broadest strokes of thanking travelers for their service, so many explorers were more than happy to unhook themselves from terrestrial tethers, to focus on their work in peace.
The inhabitant of TVC-15 had a distant cousin on Earth and occasionally they met in VR to engage in chitchat, to talk of how things were down there and up here, arbitrary directions in the vacuum of space. The relationship was maintained out of a sense of obligation to an outdated emphasis on genetic similarity. Perhaps someday this tie would completely sever, as other travelers had let happen, but for now the ship’s lights were dimming in the reddish glow of sunset, and the inhabitant was tired.
The AI disabled the artificial gravity as the dreamer floated calmly in the sleep chamber, synchronizing the day’s insights and epiphanies with the findings of their peers. The room fell dark and silence reigned as the vessel continued on its way, shrinking from a large metallic ship to a small object to a point of light before finally disappearing altogether, leaving the void as it had found it, twinkling with the light of distant stars.