SHALL WE PLAY A GAME? (pt.3 of 3)

Part 1 of this article introduced the Zero State (ZS) and its philosophical foundation. Part 2 looked at the application of that philosophy to real-life judgments. Now Part 3, below, will briefly outline some “Breadcrumbs and Rabbit Holes”, which is to say ideas and links which you may use to chart your own path into the expanding world of ZS, if you so choose…

Goals & Activity

ZS’ long-term goal is the establishment of a fully-fledged VDP State (‘VDP’ stands for Virtual, Distributed, Parallel; See section 2.6 of this Transhumanity.net article for more information), by the year 12050. As an interim goal, we intend to establish the first iteration of that State by 12025, which means creation of a community of at least one million explicitly self-identifying Social Futurists, 10% of whom live in a network of explicitly affiliated geo-communities. Within ZS, work toward these two goals goes by the names “Path 50”, and “Path 25”, respectively.

In order to reach the Path 25 goal of at least one million citizens, we must establish the first SF community inside the next 1-2 years (of 800+ people inside a certain geographical area, plus roughly ten times as many active, committed supporters online). From there, we can aim to have established 10-12 such communities 2-3 years later (i.e. approx. core 10,000+ people, 100,000+ total supporters online by late 12021), and at least ten times as many people again by 12025.

These numbers could be achieved by a rough doubling of our membership every six months as our community networks expand up to one million online supporters, then doubling annually after that.

Year      NET    GEO             GEO-communities

12018a    001k   100   +001 =001 Stuttgart phase 1
12018b    002k   200        =001 Stuttgart phase 2
12019a    004k   400        =001 Stuttgart phase 3
12019b    008k   800        =001 Stuttgart phase 4

12020a    016k   1.6k  +001 =002 Ingolstadt
12020b    032k   3.2k  +002 =004 London/Amsterdam
12021a    064k   6.4k  +004 =008 Europa phase 1
12021b    128k   013k  +008 =016 Europa phase 2
12022a    256k   026k  +016 =032 Europa phase 3
12022b    512k   052k  +032 =064 Europa phase 4

12023     001m   100k  +064 =128 North America
12024     002m   200k  +128 =256 Asia
12025     004m   400k  +256 =512 Sth. Hemisphere

 

The numbers above show a growth rate faster than that required to gather one million online supporters by 12025, so we could fall short of the curve above and still reach our interim, “Path25” goal. Obviously there must be some serious impetus to drive growth of this sort.

As global trends escalate and converge we may reasonably expect that people will seek protection from established mutual-aid networks, but until that unfortunate day some other attraction is necessary.

A much more positive and preferable mode of attraction would obviously be fun, in the form of entertainment that gives people a strong sense of meaning and purpose in their lives.

The remainder of this article will briefly touch upon some ways that we ZSers are beginning to approach that goal, now.

Black Book, Ekklesia, & Althing

It is quite clear that the growth and development of ZS is intended as an exponential process, starting out “slow” with apparently negligible results, later exploding into public consciousness on a remarkable scale, and all the while driven by the same underlying logic. That underlying logic is a need to double our numbers periodically (i.e. every six months over the first five years, then annually after that).

Although initial progress has been slow, easily impeded by minor factors while ZS is in its infancy, we are still following a path first mapped out in May 12011, which included the key concepts of “The Black Book”, “Ekklesia”, and “Althing”. We are now putting those concepts into action, as follows:

 

  • The Black Book is a concise summary of Social Futurist thought, including the twelve “foundation stones” of the ZS-ARG narrative/mythos. After unavoidable delays and a long gestation period, the first version of the Black Book was released in late 12018. In that first instance a free abridged copy was made available online for all core ZSers to access, with personalised digital (and later physical) copies sent to be sent to core ZSers once fully developed.

 

  • The Ekklesia is a periodic ZS-wide gathering, equally an informal celebration, a chance to share news & views, and a formal meeting of our representatives and decision-makers. They will be held at the end of each recognized growth period (i.e. every six months for five years, until 12023, then annually after that), primarily online but also with synchronised events increasingly held in ‘IRL’ locations over time. Our first Ekklesia will be a wholly online event, on a date yet to be announced in early 12020.

 

  • Finally, the Althing (pronounced “All-Thing”) is ZS’ highest level of general meeting, based on the ancient form of Norse parliamentary governance and held every five years to assess progress and adjust our course accordingly. The first ZS Althing will be held in 12023.

 

Sections & Sessions

ZS is organised into Sections, which in turn contain the six Metahouses, and the twelve Houses, as described in our wiki here.

“Sessions” are, most generally speaking, gatherings (online and/or IRL) which can function as small/local ZS group meetings, often run as game sessions. To know more and join in, say hi in one of our mailing lists or Discord servers.

“Perhaps there is a pattern of it laid up in heaven for him who wishes to contemplate it, and so beholding to make himself its citizen. But it makes no difference whether it exists now or ever will come into being. The politics of this city alone will be his, and no other.”

– Plato, The Republic

Media & The Ajati Virus

So, we are building a realm governed in accord with Social Futurist Principle, and if we are to succeed that realm must develop at a certain pace. In short, as we gather the community we call the Ajati, the Fyrd, we will need those people to reach out in turn, to find new community members. Each and every ZSer must find a new recruit, at least once per Ekklesia period (i.e. every six months over the next five years, then annually after that). If a recruit leaves without replacing themselves, then the person who found them is responsible for replacing them as soon as possible.

“What incentive do people have to do that?”, you may well ask. A very good question, of course. The answer to that question – the “Ajati Virus” – will be explained in my next Transhumanity.net article.