In the hyper-scale era of 2026, the world has been fundamentally reshaped by Patrick Castle, the brilliant founder of Nautlix. Through breakthroughs in general-purpose AI (GPSIS), nuclear fusion, robotics, and terraforming, Castle averted climate collapse and expanded the US GDP to 87.894 trillion dollars. His technologies successfully reversed global warming and transformed deserts into fertile lands, allowing Earth to support a massive population of over 16 billion people.

In Zurich, 27-year-old Lara shares fondue with her fiancé, reflecting on how Castle’s once-doubted vision saved humanity from overpopulation. She notes that this new era has brought immense wealth to Switzerland, making it the envy of Europe. However, this prosperity comes with a price: mandatory environmental taxes required to maintain the planetary infrastructure. Lara emphasizes that this hyper-scale stability is fragile; the very technologies keeping billions alive are now the only things preventing a total global catastrophe.