The Paradisians
"What if we could save the world? Return our polar ice caps? End hunger while also using less land for food? Devise an economic system that still allowed winners, but didn’t create losers? This is not a What If - it’s a Do Now." -- Akosua Mensah, President of Ghana.
WHO ARE THE PARADISIANS?
The Paradisians operate on the belief that we have the technology and the processes to create a sustainable society right now. In fact, they believe that inequality has never been a technological problem, it’s a societal one. If we chose equality and sustainability over greed then the world could be changed in a generation. But we have to commit to that choice because no one is going to make the world better but us. Will you join them in their fight to save the planet? If not, consider exploring one of the other five factions (Coming Soon).
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
In the year 2084 the Paradisian movement is in steep decline:
Within the Paradisian movement there is political gridlock and infighting over which problems to attack, and what processes should be used. After an unprecedented ‘Greening’ the world has started to backslide on climate as the increasing ability to live your life virtually has eroded our concern for our physical environment.
Off Worlders: Their push to colonize the vast mineral resources in the solar system is driving a renewed increase in income disparity. Their progress in building off-Earth settlements has weakened our commitment to protecting our natural habitat.
Traditionalists: Their belief that the world has changed too quickly makes them resistant to new ideas. Their hierarchical approach to government makes them distrust the decentralized Paradisian movement. They fear Paradisians will destroy the economy and societies “historical” ways of being.
The rise in technologically advanced oppressive regimes are natural enemies for the Paradisian values of collectivism and individual freedom. In many nations, Paradisians are seen as de facto terrorists. When “saving” the world could mean your life, can Paradisians find enough people willing to fight? Or will that just doom humanity to yet another unwinnable war?
Time may be running out for the Paradisian movement as activists are being rounded up and the revolution driven further underground.
Concept Art by Ash
MEET THE PARADISIANS
The Paradisians are united in a belief that greed is destroying us. We have the technology to save this world, we just have to agree that saving the world is our biggest priority.
However, the Paradisians are far from one united monolithic group. Some examples include:
Harmonists: The originators of the Paradisian movement, who believe the Path To Paradisia is through building a loving connection to nature and all of humanity.
Archivists: Believe that knowledge is a right and should be freely available to all. They firmly oppose surveillance technology like the mirror, and corporations or governments being able to own our personal information.
Green Scientists/Eco-Builders: The intellectuals who see technology and systems as the key for humanity achieving their highest ideals.
Philanthropists/Thought Leaders: The powerful few who contribute to the movement using money and influence.
Anarch-Activists: Those on the front lines of the movement who will sacrifice everything to make a change for a more humane earth.
HISTORY
The Paradisian movement started in the 2030s with the Global Mind Project (GMP): an advanced predictive modelling engine that used data and powerful holographic technology to actually SHOW humanity the future impacts of climate change. The ability for people to explore a hyper real simulation of the best, and worst, cases for their environmental future inspired a global movement -- creating a coalition of the working class and elites united in a quest to change the world through sustainable architecture, perpetual energy, plant-based diets and so much more…
THE PARADISIAN COLLAPSE
By the 2040s, the Paradisian movement had swept the world; toppling autocratic regimes and forcing multinational corporations to improve working conditions and reduce their impact on the environment. But a world where everyone - regardless of class, creed, or culture - would control their own lives, was not to be. The powerful forces the Paradisians targeted hit back with a crippling propaganda campaign to label the GMP gathering of data, used to create increasingly accurate simulations, a major threat to privacy, and even individual liberty. Governments pulled out of the global initiative, reclaiming their citizens' data, and effectively crippling the GMP. The technology that had been developed with the world's taxpayers was bought for a penny on the dollar by the world's largest corporations - who turned around and re-purchased the data to feed their own simulation technologies.
IN THE YEAR 2084
Paradisian ideals and values are still popular in many parts of the world. Despite the collapse of the GMP, we have learned to better co-exist with our planet and each other. A new generation of activists are resisting the hyper-capitalist world they live in, seeking to build on our past progress, and beat back what they see as a future where most personal freedoms will no longer exist. Discover some of the Paradisian leaders in the year 2084 below.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Have an idea of what should happen with the Paradisians? Would you want to join their struggle to make a better world? Will they achieve their goals going up against the most powerful?
You can help us decide what happens next in the comments below.
WORLD CONNECTIONS
Dive deeper into the aspects of the Future Now world where the Paradisian movement is most active:
West African Union
The West African Union is a special economic region similar to the European Union today, designed to share resources to protect the environment, give member nations increased bargaining power and the citizens freedom to work anywhere in the bloc. The population is comparatively young, very tech savvy, and thirsting to prove (and improve) themselves on the global stage. West Africa is heavily Paradisian --many consider Accra, Ghana the spiritual capital of the movement. OR In fact, the headquarters of the “new GMP” is located in Accra, Ghana. More info coming soon.
Global Mind Project
An early but failed attempt to unite governments around the task of fighting climate change. Starting as a predictive weather model, the GMP blossomed into a highly sophisticated simulation engine designed to show the world exactly how changes in behaviour would, and could, affect the planet for the better. While the wide-spread behaviour change was far shorter-lasting than Paradisians hoped - it did make a difference. However, in a cruel twist of fate, it's complex algorithms have served as the base for the world's most powerful surveillance system, The Mirror, and the escapist tech - The Fold. More info coming soon.
Paradisian Manifesto
Before the collapse of the Global Mind Project, it’s powerful simulation technology was used to develop a vision for a global system that achieved the Paradisian goals of an equitable world for all living creatures. The result of this secretive project was the Paradisian Manifesto, a set of tools that could be used by activists to transform even the most draconian of nations into a democratic state.
Let us know what you think would be in the Paradisian Manifesto?
Turf War By Arturo Gutierrezl
Bolivar-Capac Collective
The Bolivar-Capac Collective is a coalition of several South American countries, heavily influenced by Paradisian values. These countries reject both Traditionalism and the Indo-Sino influences that dominate the rest of the continent. The B.C.C. consists of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The B.C.C. nations prospered during the age of the Global Mind Project, as they adopted Paradisian ideals and created massive increases in environmental standards, economic equality, and indigenous people’s rights. In 2084 the B.C.C. is locked in a guerilla war with Argentina and Brazil over the later nation’s growing exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, as well as being attacked from within by right-wing guerilla fighters believed to be sponsored by those two South American rivals. More info coming soon.
Venusian Colony
The colony on Venus transformed from a planet wide prison to a shining example of Paradisian potential in outer space - creating a radically transparent democracy that makes corruption almost impossible. Firmly committed to equality, the fiercely independent Venusians are struggling to fight back powerful corporate forces vying for their large quantities of carbon and other valuable natural resources. The desperate Venusians have sent the daughter of one of their most powerful families to Earth in order to marry her off to a deep-pocketed ally - but does an arranged marriage disavow their Paradisian ideals? Read more on the Venusian Colony page.