Hunted
The lions hunt the visitors.
Everyone expectsVisitors watch the lions.
What if the main attraction at the zoo was you, as a robot deer, trying not to be eaten by lions?
Follow how it could happenA big idea with 9 connected futures
Ecology as spectacle
The natural world becomes a game, a conversation, a companion and a spectacle.
Nature becomes a different kind of experience.
Technology does more than let us observe the natural world. It changes the relationships we can have with it. Visitors become prey. Plants become companions. A forest becomes someone to talk to. Extinct animals return as trophies, menus and entertainment.
These are connected worlds, not isolated animal inventions. Sensing, robotics, communication and biotechnology bring nature into new kinds of participation. People find new things to care about, buy, compete over and display.
The same development can support affection, enrichment, conservation, status and conflict. A zoo can become an arcade and a theme park. A welfare film can become an encounter with a speaking family. A spectacularly offensive dinner can pay for conservation—and make that contradiction part of what its customers buy.
Nature as a gameHuntedNature as a companionCompanion GrowersNature as a conversationGaiaWebNature as a speaking subjectSpeak PigNature as a trophyFirst Chance to EatNature as entertainmentDesigner Franken-animalsNature as a power playLast Chance to EatNature as a revenue streamCarbon TigersNature as a boundaryRadioactive Forests / The Lungs of the World
Build one of these worlds.
Add a brick only when the bricks below give a reason for it.
Visitors watch the lions. What if the lions hunted the visitors?
ProblemSolution
Nature stops being something you watch.
- Problem
Bored predators
Zoos must keep lions active. Visitors pay to watch them sleep.
- Solution
Robot prey
A robot deer the lions can chase and catch without anyone getting hurt.
- Problem
Robots cost money
Hardware, repairs and pilots all need paying for.
- Solution
Visitors drive the deer
In VR, the visitor becomes the prey. Watching a lion becomes surviving one.
- Problem
One chase isn’t enough
The thrill fades after one visit. The zoo needs people to come back.
- Solution
Make it a game
Teams, rivals and leaderboards. Stag dos book months ahead; broadcasters follow the chase.
- Problem
Enrichment or blood sport?
Ticket money funds breeding programmes. Campaigners call it a blood sport; keepers call it enrichment.
Different worlds.
The same transformation.
Companion Growers
The basil isn’t speaking to the tomato.
Everyone expectsA smart planter tells you when to water.
A visit to the garden centre becomes a visit to a pet shop. AI and sensors give plants and fungi voices and personalities.
Follow how it could happenGaiaWeb
The forest would like a word.
Everyone expectsSensors monitor an ecosystem.
What if a walk through a forest became a conversation with the ecosystem around you? Sensors and AI no longer only report conditions.
Follow how it could happenSpeak Pig
Your bacon has something to say.
Everyone expectsAI detects distress on farms.
AI decodes animal calls, and people hear what their dog, their cattle and their dinner are actually saying. It could be the most moving thing technology ever does.
Follow how it could happenFirst Chance to Eat
What’s coming back on the menu?
Everyone expectsDe-extinct animals return to zoos.
Everyone can picture the restored animal in a reserve. Who pictures the first person to hunt it, the restaurant serving it, the antlers on the wall or the customer who…
Follow how it could happenDesigner Franken-animals
Your next pet is a pocket dragon.
Everyone expectsGene editing makes healthier pets.
What else do people want from animals once changing them becomes possible? Not only better health.
Follow how it could happenLast Chance to Eat
The outrage is on the menu.
Everyone expectsThe restaurant sells a sustainable menu.
Protesters press against the glass while diners eat endangered meat. The enormous bill pays for conservation.
Follow how it could happenCarbon Tigers
Every deer this tiger eats earns its owners money.
Everyone expectsCarbon credits pay for planting trees.
What if tigers earned carbon credits for eating the deer that eat the saplings? The forest’s owners begin to see predation as something they can earn from.
Follow how it could happenRadioactive Forests / The Lungs of the World
The forest survives because nobody will buy its wood.
Everyone expectsForests are saved by agreements and incentives.
Suppose a superpower confronted with a climate emergency intervenes to make a forest’s products commercially unusable, then leaves. The premise is not conquest.
Follow how it could happenFollow another connection.
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in your world?
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