Introduction: Personal Motivation for Escapism

• Speaker (journalist/sci-fi writer) feeling overwhelmed by world problems
• Plans to escape through reading about "glamorous wizards on another planet"
• Argues escapist stories can nourish relationship with truth, help see real world with fresh eyes
• Thesis: escapist stories can set people on path toward building better world

51st Legion: Star Wars Cosplayers Doing Charity Work

• Cosplayers dress as Storm Troopers, Clone Troopers, other Star Wars bad guys (some good guys)
• Global membership with local chapters
• Activities: conventions, parades, costume displays
• Charity work: raise money for Red Cross, Make A Wish Foundation, other groups
• Contradicts stereotypes of deeply engaged fans hiding from world - they re-engage with it

Origins of Charity Work (Andrew Lipac's Research)

• Andrew Lipac: historian, 51st member, author of "Cosplay: A History"
• Started as armor-building tips sharing groups
• Realized not all members could afford fancy injection molded plastic for costumes
• Began raising money for each other
• Expanded to think about other communities needing money/resources
• Reimagined community beyond Star Wars fans to include strangers
• Example of how escapist stories help reimagine relationships with communities

Scrub J: Sentient Flying Train Character Development

• Character from speaker's sci-fi novel "The Terraformers"
• Sentient flying train from distant future/another planet
• Autonomous vehicles are people in this world
• Part of worker-owned cooperative of sentient flying trains
• Bargain collectively with cities for best service/comfortable trains
• Pre-determined: would fall in love with investigative journalist cat
• Unknown: what would train do for fun

Collaboration with San Francisco Transit Official

• Speaker emailed Jeff Tumlin, head of SF public transit department
• Tumlin: sci-fi fan who'd thought about train consciousness his whole life
• Answer: trains would play strategy games
  • Constantly thinking about optimizing routes
  • Getting from place to place most efficiently
• Both engaged in same project: helping public understand transit as part of healthy human future

Public Transit Benefits and Advocacy

• Mobility brings communities together
• Helps people get to work, vacations, trips without car ownership
• Alternative for those who don't want cars due to environmental concerns
• Speaker's approach: personify transit with lovable, kind character with cute cat companion
• Tumlin's approach: tell stakeholders stories about healthier city future through transit investment
  • Vision of transit functioning for 10-100 years
• SF putting resources into transit upgrades this year, hopefully next year
• Success due to inspiration from vision of future that doesn't exist yet
• Example of escapist stories helping reimagine relationship with places we live

Emerald Tutu: Goblin Core-Inspired Flood Mitigation

• Researchers studying coastal flooding mitigation from climate change storms
• Engineering project inspired by "Goblin core" internet aesthetic

Engineering Details

• Distributed network of floating gardens
• Flare outward from coastline like tutu skirt
• Acts as permeable barrier during coastal flooding
• Dampens wave force toward shore
• Prevents floods that ruin infrastructure and claim lives

Testing at Oregon State University

• O. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab, Corvallis
• Individual garden pieces made from giant biomass blob nicknamed "chungus"
• Testing equipment: 104-meter long cement flume full of water
• Huge robotic paddles create massive storm waves
• Test results: waves became smaller after passing through chungus
• Gentle lapping tidal bore by time they hit synthetic shoreline

Seaweed Simulation and Effectiveness

• Louisa Wise (engineer) attached thick plastic ribbon pieces to bottom
• Simulated seaweed/grasses that would grow on biomass
• Finding: more seaweed/grasses = better wave dampening
• Greener and more beautiful = more effective at preventing storm surges

Goblin Core Aesthetic Inspiration

• Team architect Gabe S credited Goblin core for idea
• Goblin core: fashion/design aesthetic evoking cozy bucolic world
• References: Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings, mystical D&D cities
• Similar to Cottage Corp but with more bugs, mushrooms, dirt, messiness
• Perfect for urbanites sick of hard gray concrete/steel city edges
• Inspired team to use nature for Boston Harbor storm surge problems

Current Testing and Broader Movement

• Testing larger sample in Boston Harbor currently
• New "cinnamon roll" design: snail-shaped woven biomass mat with grass growing on top
• Part of global movement of city planners/engineers bringing nature into cities
• Creating "plug and play ecosystem" or "instant wetland"
• Could not have achieved without Goblin core inspiration

Conclusion: Fantasy as Starting Point for Change

• Key lesson: changing world doesn't start with breaking ground on infrastructure
• Starts with fantasy, imagining another world
• Believing things don't have to be current way
• Call to action: when enjoying escapist stories, hold sense of infinite possibility
• Put into practice: find community to help, get involved in local climate change projects
• Final message: "sometimes we have to escape from our problems in order to solve them"