modi di essere
Master’s Thesis 2021
Seconda Venexia
Cat. 2 [4]
“Between
the body of the [historic] city and the body of its inhabitant there is a
relationship based on proportion, size […] the body of the inhabitant and the
body of the city are not enemies, they are interconnected and integrated with
each other.”
Salvatore Settis
Salvatore Settis
· · ·
Seconda Venexia
The beauty of La Serenissima became the miasma of her soul. Her streets were filled with the marching, numb masses governed by the cult to the Object. The city could not breathe anymore. She was losing her essence; her inhabitants were leaving, exhausted by the constant quarrel with the selfishness of the invading foreigners. Venexia had always been a stage of worthwhile international exchange. With the birth of the new capitalist man, this process lost its mutuality. It took a parasitic nature and established an extreme form of colonial ‘extractivism’. The extraction was not of material goods, but of the city’s cultural and urban realm, which was repackaged, branded and sold.
The only salvation was the Brain. In the early times, when the System was not that advanced, it was situated on the island of Troncetto, next to the two-mile bridge separating the city from the mainland. It could track everyone who entered and determine his or her origin. With time, a more advanced system was needed, as the diversity and complexity of the collected data expanded. That was when the Brain and the Matrix were created.
The advanced technological development of mankind outpaced the guarding power of the water. The Floating island was accessible from land and sea and the foreign invasion continued to enlarge its dominance. Until the supremacy of the Brain was achieved. The Matrix was programmed to take the form of a defense wall with artificial intelligence and engaged the city into an invisible three-dimensional structure. In order to ensure the wholeness of the structure, the Cittadini had control over the visibility. The Matrix, and therefore the wall, had a direct connection to the Brain and the data-cloud. Based on the data encrypted in the Brain any unauthorized presence trying to enter the city was to be disabled. The main access were the train rails of Ponte della Libertà. This was the only way a visitor could arrive in the city.
The entering ceremony befell as follows: If you wished to enter, you had to agree to the regulations established by the Cittadini. When arriving at the trainstation, monitoring devices would count you in. Immediately after that, you received a notification on your device to which control sector to proceed. There were three sectors. The classification depended on the position of the nearest one respectively to your position and according to the current over-load level of each sector. At the entrance of the sector, you received a chip-card with two numbers – the first one being the row number and the second one the scanner number. Hereafter, you had to proceed to the scanner market on the chip-card.
The scanner consisted of a platform with a diameter of 60 cm and two 260 cm high vertical elements with two scan-devices attached. One of the elements had a third scan-device, positioned on the right side, where you had to put all your digital devices. They were to be scanned in order to access to your social media accounts. The upper scanner would adjust to the height of your head. The right position of your body was essential, as via scanning the System would read information about your personality directly through indication of brain impulses. The mind-reading was highly important for the accuracy of the collected data. The other two devices would scan the rest of your body. When the process began, the vertical elements would start to rotate. You might close your eyes if you feel lightheaded. The data would be transferred to the Brain. The collected information was crucial as on its ground a perfect visitor profile was created which would allow you to visit specific parts of the city that were of high interest for you. The algorithm had been designed by the Cittadini and they had perpetual access to your profile. The full body-scan allowed the System to be sure that you were not carrying any harmful substances. As anything that was scanned was synced in the data-cloud, the Brain would know if you had already been to the city and therefore, if you had acted respectfully and according to the rules. If you were traveling in a group and wanted to share the experience with your companions, you just had to let the Brain know [a short indication by thinking of it would send impulses with this information]. Once the profile and respectively the route had been created, a grayish graphene-based bracelet with small chip would appear on the middle scan-device on a small stripe next to your electronic devices. When putting it on your wrist, it would connect to your peripheral nervous system and therefore with the central nervous system. This was necessary, as you were to discover the city through specifically designed routes. You were going to be completely aware of your surrounding and all your memories were to be preserved. The bracelet would ensure that you follow your profile and not disturb the everyday life of the Cittadini.
As the System made a complete 3D scan of your body, you could download the information by simply holding your device in front of the small scan-monitor on the right side of the scanning pillar, just above the surface where you previously put your digital devices, and use it to make your next shopping trip more convenient.
After the scan-area, another check had to be made. The control unit would make sure you put your bracelet on correctly. After the last check you were free to enjoy your designed experience.
The established system allowed the city to have visitors, but restricted the extent of their influence in order to prevent what once happened to the Most Serene.