The Final Edict of the Plastic Era: "Every scrap must lead to LEGO"
Oddtopia Design Fiction Shorts #1
In 2055, plastic is only found as LEGO bricks.
It began 5 years prior, as humanity successfully weaned itself off petroleum. A new vision for all remaining and surplus plastic emerged, a simple mandate for the world:
Every scrap must lead to LEGO.
This marked the closing chapter of plastic's brief saga in human civilization, not unlike the smokestacks that towered over the Industrial Revolution or the indiscriminate opioid prescriptions of early modern medicine. These episodes, an initial crush on shiny but dodgy technologies, usually wrapped up with a collective chuckle and a head-shake.
To purge the world of remaining plastics, the process of LEGOfication became a collective effort. Every household, every neighborhood installed microplastic filters within their plumbing systems, capturing all residual traces and converting them into LEGO bricks.
In a world where plastic became superfluous, the final thing left to make with these forever chemicals were LEGO bricks—the only form of ABS far too valuable to discard.
Update from me:
I've been swamped lately with a lot on my plate. I'm deep into my PhD—focusing on studies and a couple of revisions. Our Consortium of Law, Design, and AI just secured funding, and we're thinking about kicking off with a design fiction competition, which inspired this piece. Additionally, Ailixr, the no-code AI visual builder I've been spinning-out from TUDelft with Ruben Dekker, made its first sale for the upcoming academic year! There are many exciting updates I'm eager to share with you, but more coherently when I’m above water.
So, I'm experimenting with a new form of content. I often find myself spiraling into speculative fiction rabbit holes. These episodes usually pass quickly, but this time, I decided to jot it down and share it with you as something fresh.
Let’s call it…
Oddtopia
noun
Neither utopia nor dystopia, but a cultural milieu1 defined by an (over)embracing of quirky, idiosyncratic societal norms.
What a great word, ay?