English
World Without Clouds was conceived as an experimental, multi-modal piece of speculative fiction that considers anthropological themes for the future. The story revolves around five anthropologists in the years 2045-50 who are trying to save clouds from going extinct. As climate change and authoritarian governments take over the Earth, these “salvage nephologists” invent and use an Ontology Machine to communicate with the last remaining clouds. They hope that these clouds would “speak back” and offer a cloud-centered way to save clouds from dying out. Not all of the nephologists agree on how best to approach the problem but time is running out. Will the clouds respond before their ultimate extinction? The story draws inspiration from science-studies-inflected anthropologists, recognizing science fiction’s ability to experiment and make us aware of our epistemic limitations. We blend storytelling and academic scholarship in a way that refuses easy categorization into individual-authored research. We ask what kinds of new (cloud) formations might appear in the future. We flirt—critically—with possible anthropological logics that are rooted in century-long practices of ethnographic documentation and salvation. We invite you to engage with our story.