VERA & THE BATTLE FOR NEW SEOUL

By Jay Adana & Zeniba Now

Technocapitalism flourishes in New Seoul, a city suspended in the clouds and known for its pristine transport, booming economy of multi-trillionaires, and near superhuman .01%.  Knowledge is now easily transferable through precise, synchronized SkillTrade rituals but still inaccessible to the majority of the population. 

Vera, a young girl living in the sewers beneath New Seoul knows this all too well. Her mother is glitched- a cataonic state brought on by attempting an illegal HackTransfer. Vera supports her mom by working with her friends Seven (a disabled Octopus-humanoid), Hoja (master of dance and sports), Alice and Ziggy (Holographic twins), and the mostly nonverbal Chony (an expert thief). They make their living, if you can call it that, relearning and reselling menial tasks to middle class parents: potty training, dish washing, laundry etc. Every transfer is represented by a partnered dance, where the body is systematically stripped of or filled with data.

Our story begins on the day that SkillTrade Tech Corporation, led by Tang-Il the knowledge thirsty villain and quadrillionaire, announces that they have learned to mass-produce knowledge transfers, putting billions of people out of work instantly.

Winner of The Vivace Award (2021)