Spielplatz Endzeit — Memorandum of Understanding

Abstract

Spielplatz Endzeit is a survival performance asking how cultural practices might persist in the eventuality of large-scale technological failure. It is a curious mixture of survivalist hiking trip, live-action roleplay, and LAN party. In it, we roam an imagined world without any electrical infrastructure and are not stuck in a struggle for survival, but find free time to fill with play.

Spielplatz Endzeit seeks to fuse and defuse three areas of interest often correlated with militaristic and patriarchal ideas: survivalism, amateur radio, and gaming. This transnational performance speculatively explores a pacifist and feminist version of those fields, focusing on their core ideas: resilience, communication, and play.

The performance will span five days and cover a distance of 60 kilometers going from Vodní nádrž Lipno, Czech Republic to Linz, Austria.

This document is for potential participants, giving an overview of the performance Spielplatz Endzeit, so they can assess, if this is for them and what to prepare for. It is not exhaustive but should contain the essentials.

The Trip

No electrical grid. No telecommunications network. No internet. No smartphone. No news feed. All power and information infrastructure is gone and we have come to terms with it. Still, we yearn for the rituals we performed in bygone times; Having long-distance video calls, exchanging personal memes, and playing online multiplayer video games.

For five days, two resilient groups of five will wander through the world and cooperate to stay well-fed and merry, while not accessing any electric infrastructure. Each day they will perform a ritual: climbing two separate architectural or geographical elevations and setting up a network connection using modulated light beams to video chat and play a multiplayer video game.

Visible light communication will serve as the central technological fulcrum of Spielplatz Endzeit. Only long-range communication through visible light fulfills the aesthetic, metaphorical, and practical demands this expedition presents. We will shine beacons of light heavy with compressed data and meaning.

Before the expedition, all participants will collectively gather, assemble, and fabricate their clothes and tools out of found and second-hand things. During the expedition, any electrical device may only be powered through hand-generated electricity.

Spielplatz Endzeit is no preparation for any realistic emergency scenario but a playful engagement with the examined topics. While we can freely and safely explore the landscape, we want to acknowledge the struggle of those who live through blackouts without being safe and well supplied with food. We will not access any external electrical power sources, yet we still indirectly depend on them through the people who work the land and provide us with food. The performance seeks not to establish an alternative mode of living but to provoke ideas and feelings in a temporary exceptional situation.

Power

The majority of the world’s human population depends on the supply of electric power. Electricity has become an irreplaceable medium for providing warmth, health, food, means of communication, and entertainment. The electrical infrastructure delivering it is a highly complex network of countless power plants, power lines, and transformers that cover entire continents. These systems are by no means local and independent but resonate over thousands of kilometres in precise harmony as a gigantic interconnected machine. If a single part goes out of rhythm, it can destabilize the entire network and cause extensive power outages. Those irregularities can be triggered by human error, malice, natural disasters, equipment failure, extreme weather, space weather, or squirrels.

The city of Linz, just like many other cities, states, or communities, recognizes the possibility of power outages and recommends its residents to be prepared for at least 10 days without power. As such, being prepared for blackouts is not only a niche fad of idiosyncratic preppers. There exist many groups and individuals who choose to intentionally live off-grid for self-sufficiency, resilience, economic, ecological, political, and aesthetic reasons. In Spielplatz Endzeit we want to consider all of those reasons.

Movement

The trip will start in Vodní nádrž Lipno, Czech Republic and end in Linz, Austria. It will span five days and four nights and cover a distance of about 60 km. The two groups will move by foot from waypoint to waypoint, all marked on a printed map. Each waypoint is designated as a place for eating, sleeping, or visible light communication. Most waypoints have a time span attached to them, in which the groups should be located near that waypoint. Each group has their own map with their own waypoints, some of which overlap. On our trip, we will cross the temples of electric power: hydroelectric plants, a wind farm, and a thermal power station.

Visible light communication is the only mode of communication while the groups are not in direct contact. This requires the groups to trust in their map. No communication will be possible when the groups are not present in the right place, at the right time. The map is a rigid framework to follow, yet around it, there will be plenty of space and time for free exploration, spontaneity, and happy accidents.

Food

The groups will come together at predefined locations to eat food. On some days local farmers and townspeople who know of our trip will offer their space and provide us with meals. On other days the groups will eat cold food they collect on the way. The meals will primarily be vegetarian. We will try to accommodate any dietary requirements.

Rest

We will sleep in provided farm shacks, tarp shelters, or other canopies, wrapped in our sleeping bags. If you are not experienced in overnight camping you can camp in someone’s garden as a tryout and should make at least one overnight camping trip. Our sleep cycles will follow the rhythm of the sun. In August the sun will set at around 21:00 and rise at around 6:00.

Health

If you are not experienced in long hikes, try to do a multi-day hike before the performance, to see if you are ready for the trip. When your feet are not used to long hikes, they are likely to get blisters and you might need to suspend the trip.

In case of health emergencies, every group will have a first aid kit with them. At least one group member will have first aid training, while it is recommended for every participant to do training at their local aid agency.

It is recommended to get vaccinated for tick-borne encephalitis (FSME), as it is likely to get ticks during our trip and Austria is central to endemic encephalitis infections. According to the World Health Organisation, there is no specific treatment for tick-borne encephalitis. The disease affects the central nervous system and can lead to permanent paralysis.

Timekeeping

To allow the groups to meet at the same time at the designated locations, every group will carry at least two windup clocks. At the beginning of our trip, we will synchronize our clocks, not based on an external clock, but based on our collective decision on which time it should be. During each visible light communication ritual we will synchronize our clocks. If the outside world interacts with us, they might need to accommodate to our time.

Gear

Gear for preparedness is often imbued with militaristic ideas. As militaries are enormous and heavily funded organizations dealing to a large degree with preparedness, also the thinking about preparedness is strongly influenced by them. The equipment that soldiers are carrying can be described with the umbrella term tactical gear. Its use overlaps widely with tools that are generally useful in emergencies, yet what tactical gear often affords, is its extended use as weaponry. A tactical pen, for example, is a sturdy pen that is built in a way that it can also be used to stab people. Army shops, the retail stores for tactical gear, offer a lot of tools that are handy in emergency situations, yet those are mostly designed and built against the backdrop of war. In the context of army shops, preparedness is often seen as an individualistic struggle in the face of armed conflict, rather than an act of preemptive compassion or foresightful mutual aid.

Under this pretext, we want to examine the tools we take with us. Do we need camouflage? Mimikry makes us less visible – we want to be eye-catching. Are pants with a lot of bags useful? Likely. Do our knifes need to be big scary fuck-off knifes? Small ones are much more practical.

The groups carry no equipment that can access any electronic power or information infrastructure. No GPS devices, no phones, no power plugs. Also no mobile radios, as they can potentially access broadcast radio and other wireless services which do not exist in our world.

Clothing

The clothing of the roamers will be self-made out of found and gifted second-hand clothing. Visually it appears playful, in detail profusely colorful. The groups are not hiding in green camouflage but appear intentionally conspicuous. When they communicate over large distances they want to be easy to spot. Their clothing expresses values of trust, confidence, and independence. The colorful exuberance does not only spring from a place of individualism but of collective reliance and bold autonomy. The clothes can include perfectly fitting found pieces, as well as swiftly implemented intuitions adjusted to the wearers needs. The prime criterion to assess anyone’s clothing is how comfortable the wearer feels wearing it.

The specific clothing to bring along is up to each person. What is recommended: a headpiece for sun protection, an all-purpose piece of cloth, two pair of socks, and two sets of underwear. We can wash and dry one set while we wear the other. One shirt, one pair of pants, and one rainproof windbreaker.

One of the most important elements of your gear is fitting shoes. If you are wearing shoes that do not fit well, you will end up with blisters. Make sure you have already used your shoes on a long hike.

Tools & Receptacles

For every non-consumable object you bring along applies: do not buy it new. Either you already have it or you get it used.

The sleeping bag will be the most important gear for the night. Additionally, a sleeping pad as thermal insulation from the ground is highly recommended. A foam sleeping pad is preferred as inflatable pads have the downside of potentially leaking air and thereby losing their function.

A multi-tool pocketknife for cutting food and twigs. A fork and a spoon. A sealable box for food. A water bottle (~2 liters). A fire striker (optional, 4 are provided).

All participants should acquire a basic understanding of map reading and navigation with a compass. One of the participants should be experienced in map reading and be responsible for correct navigation. All participants will take care that the waypoints are reached on time, while one person keeps track of the time most attentively.

Every group will carry at least one compass for navigation, which is provided. Additionally, every participant can choose to bring their own compass.

Every person will bring their personal hygiene products. Make sure to bring menstrual products that work for you while you are on a hike. On most days our hosts bathrooms can be used if needed.

At least one person per group will have an emergency kit for injuries.

Bring along personal medication if needed.

A small notebook and a pen (preferably a pencil) to document the trip. It can be a source for things you can share during the visible light communication exchanges.

Every person will wear a thumb drive attached to their body in some form. After each ritual all generated data will be backed up on each drive.

Earplugs are helpful if other performers are snoring.

In addition to the gear covering the basic needs, each person will carry specific gear relating to their role.

While our world has no borders, the outside world might confront us with and enforce its rules. Please take travel documents with you, so you can cross the Czech-Austrian border according to national laws.

Sunscreen and sunglasses.

Try to keep the total weight of your gear below 20% of your body weight. Keep space for equipment relating to your role.

Every group will carry three hand-crank generators which will be used to charge the laptop battery over the course of the trip and during the communication ritual.

video One of the hand-crank generators used to power the communication devices.

Roles

Every participant will embody a role and take on the respective responsibilities:

While every participant has a certain focus, everyone makes sure they keep a good overview of what is happening and proactively checks what the group needs. The roles are not rigid boxes to be perfectly filled but should make sure the skills of the group are well balanced. The role will mostly be shaped by the respective participant. This live-action role play does not ask for a specific character to be embodied, rather it asks to live through the moments of a world without electric infrastructure, as yourself or a version of yourself.

Artisan

Proficiencies: clothing & tooling & logistics & weather
Equipment: sewing kit, umbrella, laptop

The Artisan supports the participants in preparing their clothing and gear. During the trip, the Artisan keeps an eye on broken clothing and equipment and helps in repairments. The Artisan will be attentive if the participants are prepared adequately. Is a backpack unbalanced or too heavy? The Artisan will notice.

Connoisseur

Proficiencies: food & water & foraging & shelter
Equipment: camping stove, lighter, spices, lock pick set

The Connoisseur will bring the group to the food. They are knowledgeable about what edible things the forests, waysides, and cities offer. The Connoisseur will also have an eye for scenic snack stops and cozy roosts. Fruits are always at hand to calm troubled spirits.

Mediator

Proficiencies: music & poetry & documentation & morale
Equipment: analog camera, 5 rolls of film, musical instrument, tripod

The Mediator tries to keep the group together. The Mediator has a delicate sense of mood and morale and a well-pronounced Fingerspitzengefühl on interpersonal relations. In their sense of situations, the Mediator also documents the trip, casting the experience into a medium of their liking. The Mediator keeps hold of fond memories.

Physikus

Proficiencies: mental health & physical health & timing & navigation
Equipment: first aid kit, compass, map, tiny table

The Physikus has experience in mending a body. They check in on the physical and mental health of the teams individuals. In their attentiveness, the Physikus also keeps an eye on the clock and nudges the group to show up at the right spot at the right time.

Sparky

Proficiencies: signals & energy & play & data
Equipment: VLC transceiver, a bootable thumb drive with a backup of the whole Wikipedia from 2007, binoculars

The Sparky cares about providing the means for communication and play. They will arrange the setup for visible light communication and ask the team to convert their muscle power to electric power.

Vermittlung

The focal ritual of Spielplatz Endzeit: Die Vermittlung. Both groups try to reach the marked spot for visible light communication (VLC) at the same time. Once they reach their designated position they look out for the other group. Their location can be found on the map, and the compass will guide them in their direction. The groups use their telescopes to spot each other. Once a group has spotted the other group they will set up their communication equipment:

Each group will align its VLC receiver with the transmitter of the other group. The status of each groups system is communicated through colored light filters placed in front of the light transmitters. The color serves solely as a human-to-human communication channel. Green means preparing for transmission. No filter (white light) means the group is ready for communication. Red means no transmission is to be expected at this waypoint due to technical issues.

Once both groups have aligned their transceivers and are ready for communication, they will try to ping the other systems fixed IP address.

Once a team has successfully established a connection they will start a video transmission (~2.5 kb/s).

When both video transmissions are running the groups will perform a mutual greeting.

Followingly 3 rounds of the game (to be determined) are played.

Followingly the groups exchange pictures of memes they have created during their trip.

Followingly the groups bid goodbye and end the transmission.

The following elements of the transmission are documented and stored: communication distance, weather, temperature, signal quality, data quantity, raw data, and additional notes. The data is compressed into a zip file and backed up on a second and third thumb drive. Trinary data integrity.

Lastly, the transceiver is packed up.

If the view from group to group is obscured by fog or other unforeseen occurrences, or one of the transceivers is set to red or not lighting up at all, then the current transmission is cancelled. The groups will pack up and play a card game instead.

video
A video from a test stream with the targeted bitrate.

Visible Light Communication

Visible light communication (VLC) is the process of transmitting information through visible light. The oldest forms of visible light communication likely have been beacon fires which were used to quickly transport information over large distances. If we do not require a tool to be involved in the transmission, body language can also be seen as a form of visible light communication. Long-distance visible light communication using electronic circuits, as it will be applied here, is closely related to radio communication. Both use electromagnetic waves traveling through free space to transport information. The difference being the frequencies of the used electromagnetic waves. Using visible light instead of radio waves for long-distance communication comes with practical downsides: sender and receiver always need to be in line of sight and atmospheric absorption limits the usable range. While being less practical, communicating information through light enables us to perceive electromagnetic data streams directly through our own eyes. The transmission becomes perceptible, not by the reception and demodulation through technical instruments, but through the direct effect the unaltered light has on our sensory organs. Just as the beacon fires in ancient times. We might not be able to decode the information but we see it nevertheless.

The hardware for VLC in Spielplatz Endzeit is built from common second-hand electronic and optical hardware. A focused LED flashlight powered by an audio interface is used as a transmitter. A cheap astronomical telescope for children is used for optical magnification on the receiving side. The light of the transmitter is focused onto a photodiode, which sensing current is fed into a transimpedance amplifier. The resulting alternating voltage is converted to a digital signal by the audio interface which is also driving the LED. The received signals are demodulated in software and interpreted as ethernet frames. What results, is a computer network connection enabled by visible light traveling through free space.

vlc
An experimental test of visible light communication in the Slovenian mountains during PIF camp.

Radio communication is highly regulated due to the limited frequency spectrum available, yet there is no regulation for optical frequencies. This makes visible light communication the ideal technology for experimental life action role-plays. In the context of our fictitious setting, using light also lets us step away from the busy parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, omitting any interference from the still-intact radio infrastructure and letting us immerse in an imagined world of a quiet aether.

Preparation

The performance is preceded by a one-day workshop. The workshop serves as a place for us to get to know each other, share information on the trip, and collectively pack our backpacks. We will talk about the trip in detail and discuss any questions or concerns. The details of the visible light communication ritual are covered during the workshop and we will learn how to perform it. Codi and Justine will craft gear specifically for our trip which you can choose from.

Außenwelt

Spielplatz Endzeit will have an audience. When we meet people from the outside world, we will make sure they know that we are performing a play with the map as our script. The locations for visible light communication will be shared publicly. Anyone can come and watch the process. The last ritual on the last day in Linz will be especially advertised and celebrated. The trip will be documented photographically not only by us but also by people coming from the outside world.

References

Do you want to know more about related ideas? Here are a few links:

Permacomputing
“Permacomputing is both a concept and a community of practice, oriented around issues of resilience and regenerativity in computer and network technology inspired by permaculture.”
http://permacomputing.net/

Damaged Earth Catalog
Collection of articles by Marloes de Valk on computing within limits, degrowth, low-tech, permacomputing and other related themes.
https://damaged.bleu255.com/

100 Rabbits
An off-grid artist collective living on a ship on the Pacific Ocean. “Hundred Rabbits is a small artist collective. Together, we explore the planned failability of modern technology at the bounds of the hyper-connected world. We research and test low-tech solutions and document our findings with the hope of building a more resilient future.”
https://100r.co/site/about_us.html

Station Eleven (Series & Book)
A post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines, telling the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what’s been lost. “Survival is Insufficient”
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi858243865/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_Eleven

The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction
This essay by the author of speculative fiction Ursula K. Le Guin retells the idea of a story as a container of words and things of people, not a report of conquest and domination of heroes. The essay informs the narrative of this performance as a community effort not as a hero’s journey.
https://otherfutures.nl/uploads/documents/le-guin-the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction.pdf

Participation

To join the performance you should

Expected dates of enactment:
2024-August-05 to 2024-August-11

The honorary for the participants is still to be determined and depends on the available funding. Accommodation for the preceding workshop can be accommodated. Travel costs can be covered to a limited degree.

The performance depends on public funding which is not yet secured. An update on that matter is expected by end of June.

Who are we?

Spielplatz Endzeit is a project by Toma Pilein, Codi Körner and Justine Maier Ortega.

Toma Pilein (he/him) is the writer and coordinator of the performance. Toma lives in Linz, Austria and Bolzano, Italy and works as an artist, researcher as well as teacher in the field of human-computer interaction, and occasionally as a curator of media art festivals. Spielplatz Endzeit his attempt to grapple with the topics the performance touches. The performance builds upon previous work, dealing with human-generated power as well as visible light communication.

Codi Körner (they/them) is a garment designer and artist exploring interfaces between digital and physical materialities. They left their childhood home in the Appalachian mountains to chase a dream of combining traditional crafts with new media in Berlin, Germany. Their work spans leather craft, design for wearables, jewelry design, digital sculpture and large-scale textile installation. For Codi, Spielplatz Endzeit applies handcraft and resourcefulness to a survival scenario while speculating about fashion for real-life avatars.

Justine Maier Ortega (she/her) is a garment designer currently working on her bachelor thesis. With a critical eye, she has delved deeply into the worlds of prepping and modern nomadic culture. Her research into prepping has given her a solid understanding of survival strategies and self-sufficiency, which she integrates into her designs. She has a passion for crafting and artistic tailoring, constantly testing its limits. For Justine, Spielplatz Endzeit offers a chance to bring this theoretical scenario to life, allowing her to discover firsthand which essentials are truly necessary.

Next steps

Are you interested in joining Spielplatz Endzeit?

If yes, please fill out this form!

An undertaking like this asks for a lot of trust. If there is anything that makes you doubtful about any aspect of the trip, please reach out to us. While the trip might be demanding physically and mentally, our goal is to create a space for enjoyable and inspiring situations.

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