The Stockton Chronicles
The Stockton Chronicles
A near-future Bay Area where automation has reconfigured the economy, liquid democracy opens new forms of civic participation, and people adapt their moral compass to a world in constant flux. Many young people have been priced out of the inner Bay Area and moved to the fringes — including Stockton.
Overview
Thematic questions
- How might technology change public, private, and personal life — for better or worse?
- How do people adapt their moral compass and life plans in a rapidly shifting world?
- What are the second-order effects of emerging social and technological trends?
Setting
- Near future: 3–10 year horizon, no explicit year
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area and neighboring regions — with at least a loose tie to Stockton
- Many people live in shared housing or co-ops to pool resources and community
- Grounded in real science and technology, projecting out as R&D becomes product
- Automation has significantly transformed the economy — many careers are no longer viable
- Polities are exploring different social safety nets; Basic Income present in some places
- An influencer-industrial complex with unclear disclosure rules
Stories
The Toybox
Randy Lubin assembled this toybox for Contest #4. Use one or more elements in your artifact and check them off on the submission form.
Technology
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Liquid Democracy — direct civic participation beyond election cycles (see The Caucus)
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Room-scale computing environments with projectors and sensors (see Caduceus City)
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Always-on AI agents in smart glasses — accountable to wearer or employer (see Caduceus City)
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Facilitated immersive digital storytelling experiences (see Joan Henry vs the Algorithm)
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Fast-moving biotech frontier — synth-bio startups to at-home biohacking (see Caduceus City)
Setting & Economy
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Bay Area / Stockton — many young people priced out of the inner Bay, living on the fringes
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Shared housing / co-ops — pooling resources and community as economic and social response
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Automation-disrupted economy — many careers no longer viable
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Basic Income / alternative social safety nets — present in some polities
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Influencer-industrial complex with unclear disclosure rules
Thematic Concerns
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Technology changing public, private, and personal life — for better or worse
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Adapting moral compass and life plans in a rapidly shifting world
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Second-order effects of emerging social and technological trends