The Canteen

Hello World, I'm Tomasino.

This is SolarPunk Prompts,

a series for writers where we discuss SolarPunk,

a movement that imagines a world where technology is used

for the good of the planet.

As the SolarPunk Wikipedia page says,

whereas Cyberpunk envisions humanity becoming more

alienated from its natural environment and subsumed by

technology,

SolarPunk envisions settings where technology enables

humanity to better coexist with itself and its environment.

SolarPunk is more similar to Steampunk than Cyberpunk.

Our goal is to help see that future world into existence by

developing genre stories which push these sensibilities

into the public consciousness.

In this series,

we spend each episode exploring a single SolarPunk story

prompt, adding some commentary, some inspirations,

and some considerations.

Most importantly,

we consider how that story might help us to better envision

a sustainable civilization.

If this is your first time here,

I'd recommend checking out our introduction post first,

where we talk about what SolarPunk is, why should care,

and why this series came into being.

Now, let's get started.

Today's prompt is The Canteen.

For clarity, we're talking about a cafeteria, lunchroom,

or mess hall here,

not the type of canteen you can drink out of.

A canteen in an isolated scientific or environmental

outpost, where scientists, engineers, cooks,

and maintenance staff show each other their human face,

while still remembering the importance of their role here

and the harsh conditions of the outside.

For example, cleaning the plastic from the oceans,

or measuring the polar ice levels, etc.

I've talked a great deal so far about the positivity of

solar punk,

especially how it treats technology in the future.

And that is with great reason.

One of solar punk's common descriptions is that it's the

opposite of cyberpunk.

Perhaps opposite isn't exactly the right word,

but it gets to the heart of things.

Solar punk isn't a gritty,

collapsed society with the technological power of

oppression laying over everything.

And so the rainbows and green pasture aesthetic

predominates public consciousness.

And that's probably a fine thing.

I should say solar punk is optimistic.

It is hopeful.

Solarpunk stories can take many forms, though.

That hope and optimism may not pervade every aspect

equally.

Today's prompt is a great example of that.

Here we have a harsh outer world surrounding the community.

It could be anything from a blizzard -covered tundra to a

plague -ridden city ruin.

Where do we find the hope and optimism in a place like

that?

In the community, of course.

Remember Solarpunk Guideline 1,

the community as protagonist.

Having a glimmer of hope and determination amidst a setting

of challenge, or even of despair,

is a powerful juxtaposition.

It can grant you the ability to explore the full range of

emotional experience for your characters.

You can challenge those sensibilities,

even dip in moments of doubt to further emphasize the

choice of hope.

When faced with an external threat or antagonist,

we have less need for the internal ones that we've

discussed so far.

We can lead into that harmony of community as a balm for

the difficult realities faced in bringing the solarpunk

sensibilities to the outside world.

I'm thinking of our second guideline here.

Infrastructure is sexy, but there is no simple solution.

What are your characters building or fixing?

What do they seek to change in the world around them?

What challenges must they overcome?

Is it a physical barrier, scientific,

or are there outsiders?

Are we changing hearts and minds?

The unique landscape of challenges paints a picture where

we can really dive in and illustrate that sense,

but there's no simple solution.

Think about the unique gifts present in the individuals of

your community.

What do they bring to bear on their mission?

How do the relationships within the community change?

community express themselves in its outward efforts.

Do all of your characters agree on the same path,

or do their backgrounds inform unique perspectives?

Here's a point where I like to think back to our refugee

camp a little bit.

Remember the mixture of cultures and the dynamic creole

languages that it developed?

What sort of cultural cultures bring?

How are they each handled the stresses of their work,

especially being isolated from the rest of the world?

With this in mind,

their struggles may overlap and interweave,

and the starts and stops and restarts,

that could be part of their progress.

If you wanted to focus more on the science fiction or the

climate fiction aspects of the story.

These challenges and their setbacks provide ample

opportunity to work through ideas and scenarios or even a

comprehensive list of environmental processes.

You could highlight some specific aspect of climate change

or a way to combat it.

We have many themes to explore in the genre and many

approaches to those themes.

And it's okay to service more than one.

A good solar punk story can also be good science fiction.

If none of that appeals to you though,

this prompt demands none of it.

It would be perfectly fine to choose to have a simple sense

of the outer dread.

The world is dying, but where we're going to save it?

And let that aspect of the story be a backdrop only.

After all,

we haven't yet discussed the actual focus of the prompt.

The canteen.

This prompt is designed to narrow the focus to the human

moments of community,

rather than focusing exclusively on their work.

The setting of the canteen or mess hall would be a place

for everyone to mingle and mix outside of their normal

roles, to share a meal, to relax, to talk, perhaps more.

When we're talking about isolated communities,

we're talking about a unique culture.

Culture is a system of shared meanings.

It could be expressed in any number of ways, from rituals,

religious practices, taboos, and especially food.

We covered the topic of language in some depth earlier,

and it would be equally appropriate here.

The card game dialect might help you brainstorm ideas.

For those traveling to work in Antarctica,

there is a thing called the No Appendix Club.

That is a group of people with literally no appendix.

They had it removed.

It's not technically required of everybody traveling to

Antarctica.

In fact,

it's only required of doctors staying over in the winter.

But it's become part of their cultural tradition.

When you imagine this communal eating area,

bring all of this to mind.

What has the culture bred?

How strong is it?

How equipped is it to deal with the challenges it faces?

There's a term called cultural resilience,

which is used to describe a culture's ability to cultivate

and develop an identity, knowledge, and practices,

and how its values, language,

and customs can help it overcome adversity.

Resilient culture is one that can absorb adversity,

to deal with change and continue to develop.

These are the types of communities we want to better

envision with SolarPunk.

How do all these multitudes of pieces and parts come

together for your community?

At the turn of the century,

UNESCO issued a Universal Declaration on Cultural

Diversity, and in it,

it linked cultural resilience to metrics of national

happiness.

How happy is your community, despite their challenges?

And then finally,

after plenty of consideration for their mission and their

unique skills and viewpoints,

and how that would build into culture and mores,

we can ask the most important human question.

What do they do with their free time?

What does the SolarPunk community of scientists play cards

after dinner?

Or would that sort of competitive gaming feel flat?

What about board games or puzzles?

Do they seek to escape their reality by playing imaginative

games?

Is there a Dungeons& Dragons group in the corner?

Is there a live -action role -playing?

This may be the time for characters to let their hair down.

It's definitely a great time to explore their everyday

humanity.

And it's also a nice exercise for you personally.

Imagine yourself for a moment in the SolarPunk community of

the near future.

How would you want to spend your free time?

Now you can help the world imagine it with you,

and that's the first step in making it real.

I'll talk to you soon on the next SolarPunk prompt.

I'll talk to you soon on the next SolarPunk prompt.