Erewhon

Storyline

Welcome to Erewhon is an adaptation of Samuel Butler's visionary novel Erewhon, published in 1872, in which he speculates about an imaginary country and in so doing, pushes our way of attributing meaning to the world to the very limits of its logic. One hundred and fifty years after Samuel Butler's initial voyage, Erewhon has changed a lot. Automatization has been taken to the limit and work as we know it has disappeared. Factories produce all of life's necessities. Production, storage and handling are outsourced to warehouses outside of town, where there are no humans. Farms rear animals, grow crops and transform the produce. Vehicles deliver it. Software programs optimize the system. The inhabitants have been rid of any exacting activities and are free to devote themselves to the pursuit of pleasure. They have made a selection so that the only machines that remain close-by are those that afford them a measure of well being; the others are relegated to the periphery. Humankind now only works to develop and extend its leisure activities and childhood lasts much longer. Robot otters take care of the elderly and purr following the instructions of their AI, whereas other robots are in charge of massaging inhabitants and preparing their meals. GPS-equipped cats map out the surrounding areas; robotic vacuum cleaners discover sensuality and pigs with augmented brains are connected in a network.