“Terra-reforming,” a story I wrote as a follow-up to the Sci-Fi Prototyping workshop conducted at the DENSO Advanced Research Institute, is included in the anthology "Chikyu heno SF" [SF for the Earth], edited by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan and published by Hayakawa Shobo in 2024.
The original concept is credited to the DENSO Advanced Research Institute, with the story written by Yashima Yugen. This short story was written based on ideas from a plot created by the participants of the Sci-Fi Prototyping workshop.
In the year 2040, Earth’s habitable zones have been drastically reduced due to severe “hyper-warming.” Independent SAI bots (Standalone AI bots) cultivate and research algae with various possibilities in a disused facility, isolated from the outside world. The 16-year-old girl, Ai, was also raised by them, fostering a rare intellectual capacity. Deeply desiring contact with humans, Ai steps into the prohibited building—the Dome’s Metaverse Room —where she meets the young man, Sho. Ai eventually participates in the Earth Regeneration Conference, which debates the grand plan of “terra-reforming” to restore the ravaged Earth. Utilizing quantum computer simulations, she proposes a dramatic solution.
However, the ambitions of Xenodyne Corporation, the giant global company that monopolizes the communications industry for profit, and the secret surrounding Ai’s own birth intertwine, accelerating the narrative toward an unpredictable destiny. In a world where humanity’s scars on nature are too deep, can Ai save the Earth and discover the path she must take?
Please read “A Guide to ‘Terra-reforming’ by Janus”
Companies interested in Sci-Fi Prototyping are invited to get in touch。