The Fold get's it's name from the concept of folding space and time to access a different dimension, like how the Star Trek enterprise travels at warp speed, literally folding space and time. In the year 2084 virtual reality has reached a level of ubiquity and immersiveness such that there is nearly no line between what is real and virtual in ones environment. It's like there's a Holodeck in every home, work and public space, but there is no visible technology to make this happen, the environment is just built this way.
Many board meetings would not take place in person, but in a digital boardroom in the Fold. Artwork by Embreate.
To Fold could mean; to step into a representation of another place on earth in the present for a business meeting, or to travel through history and step into a living representation of the age of the dinosaurs, or to travel to Mars fifty year in the future to help design a new settlement, or to enter an entirely different dimension to play your favorite video game.
Example of a virt mining interface. Virt mining is powered in part by use of the Fold. Artwork by Embreate.
What does this mean for life in the year 2084?
The Gamification of Everything:
in the year 2084 space colonization is the most dominant industry and the technology behind the Fold allows anyone on Earth to participate in the planning and development of humanities future off-Earth. And techniques to make gaming fun & addictive developed in the early 21st century are now infused into nearly every aspect of modern life whether you're mining off earth asteroids or working to protect the Amazon Rainforest.
This graphic is an adaptation of a model found in the Wolfram Physics Project Library. An in-depth explanation of the multiverse can be found in the Map of the Multiverse presentation. Source: Wolfram Physics.
Multidimensional Thinking:
In the year 2084 the multiverse is not an abstract concept reserved for physicists and fans of super hero franchises. The multiverse is real and you access it everyday for work and play. Your children effortlessly Fold to the past to learn about history, you Fold to a proposed future state of the world to plan construction for a new housing development, and for fun you Fold into vast fantastical universes that are themselves each multiverses. It's all organized for you so you can navigate the multiverse of multiverse like a wizard, just another day in the Fold.
In reality castles only belong to Ecclesia. But in the Fold, you can indulge in your wildest fantasies. Artwork by Embreate.
Coveting Realness
Life as a game lived in a world where anything is possible? Who wouldn't want that? In the year 2084, there are many who resist the culture of Folding. They're are the Traditionalists who see in the Fold more harm than good; people who have lost touch with the real world, more interested in their success in a game than dealing with the very real problems in the present. Though this is a privileged position to take as living a life completely free of immersive technology would mean stepping out of human culture and society. For most people the only time they have outside of the Fold is on vacation and is the reason that the Ecclesia design aesthetic is rooted in the collection of tangible priceless objects.
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