New Babylon is a story driven NFT collection with AI generated artwork and community driven choices. Discover the story behind our collection and learn more about our NFTS below.
New Babylon is an NFT collection on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos is a green, scalable and secure blockchain, popular for NFTS. We picked objkt.com to deploy our collection.
The Story of New Babylon
New Babylon – Prologue
It’s the year 2134. Since the digital revolution, earth as we’ve known it no longer exists. Artificial intelligence and robots took over lots of jobs that were in the past done by humans. Poverty on the countryside has been increasing drastically. People have to flock into the so called mega cities to find employment and new purpose.
This is the story of Kate. Kate managed to live in her small country side home for years, but it’s time now for her to move. She’s moving to the mega city called New Babylon. A city known for its many inventions.
New Babylon is an interactive story where the community influences how the story progresses. All images are generated using AI. Follow Kate on her journey into New Babylon and help decide her fate.
Chapter 1 – A New Beginning
Day 1 – 9:35 AM
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt. That damn alarm clock again. 9:35 AM. I’ve been snoozing for more than 30 minutes now. It’s time to wake up. I turn off my alarm and get out of bed. I get dressed and head downstairs to grab some quick breakfast. After that I pack some final things and take my luggage and head outside. Goodbye little house, I’m going to miss you.
Ever since the digital revolution poverty on the countryside has been increasing drastically. I’ve been able to delay my move into the city for quite a while, but today it’s time. I’ve been running low on cash and getting food and medicines has been increasingly more difficult and expensive. And prices just went through the roofs. I too need to follow the flock and head into the city.
Day 1 – 4:00 PM
It’s late in the afternoon when I finally see New Babylon on the horizon. It was quite the journey. The first miles of my day I spent on foot, but later I finally managed to hitch a ride. A truck driver pulled over and dropped me off here, on a hill close to the mega city, New Babylon.
I do have to admit the sight is magnificent. In large contrast to the countryside, people seem to be wandering around everywhere. The horizon is filled with skyscrapers and I see an airship flying through the sky. I’ve never seen an airship before in my entire life. I guess it’s true what they say that New Babylon is a city of many inventions.
Day 2 – 9:00 AM
My first day in the new city. I woke up early today. It will still take some time to adjust, but I do have to admit I’m excited to explore today. I found this walking tour online that will take me to some of the city’s highlights. A great way to discover some of the sights New Babylon has to offer.
But first, coffee. No day can go by without a fresh latte. My apartment came equipped with the latest and greatest of coffee machines. I head into my kitchen to test this new apparatus. So many options! I select a strong espresso from dark roasted coffee beans and top it off with fresh steamed milk. Delicious!
Day 2 – 11:00 AM
The walking tour has been great so far. The tour started at Riot Park, one of the best parks in the city. The park is a popular place to escape the city life and it’s always packed in summer. People go there for a wide range of activities, including swimming in the pond, cycling, and rock climbing. After the park I’ve taken a footbridge across a ravine in the direction of the harbour.
It’s almost noon when I arrive in the cities old harbor. It’s one of the busiest areas of the city. The port where ships used to dock has been transformed into a massive transportation hub. Monorails and airships are used to transfer goods and passengers between New Babylon and other megacities. I continue my walk on the footbridge and enjoy the view of an airship flying by.
Day 2 – 5:00 PM
I continue my walk through the city and explore the other quarters of the city. I saw old streets, a church, traditional shops… It’s magnificent. I’m truly impressed.
One of my favorites, is the oldest street of the city, a street that was built long before people started flocking to New Babylon. It’s one of the few areas of the city that isn’t jam packed with skyscrapers. It’s one of the most expensive areas of the city.
It’s 5 PM now. It’s been quite the walk and my legs are getting tired. I decided to take a monorail home and head to the station. I purchase a ticket using my mobile and wait until the train arrives a few minutes later, on the exact time it is scheduled. I board the train and head home.
Day 5 – 10:30 AM
My delivery system isn’t working anymore. I need to head back to the vendor and present my ID before I’ll get new deliveries at my door from the drone. I just finished my breakfast and it’s time to head out and fix this damn delivery issues. Can’t wait much longer as I’m running out of groceries. I even spent my morning without a coffee, as I ran out of milk. One can only start to imagine my mood today…
I arrive at the shop where I need to present my ID. Surprisingly I notice it’s completely automated. Not a single human is involved. It’s quite amazing how you have vending points throughout the system where you can register for the grocery delivery system and then get home deliveries. And it’s completely operated by an AI. I quickly fix my registration and to my satisfaction I’m enrolled in the system again!
Day 5 – 3:00 PM
After I fix my delivery issues I decided to go to one of the calm areas of New Babylon, the meadows just outside of the busy city center. The megacity is much more crowded and noisy than what I’m used to, so I need some quiet time. On my way there I stop for a coffee at one of the coffee shops, to level out my caffeine intake for the day. I needed that!
Early in the afternoon I arrive at the meadows. Here it’s so calm you can hear the wind. Birds are flying through the sky and I wander through the grass as I listen to them. I can watch the airships flying in and out of the city, just above the trees in the back of the meadow. It’s a really good time-out from the busy city. I enjoy it a lot and will definitely be coming here again!
Day 8 – 10:12 AM
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt. 9:20 AM. My alarm goes off for the 3rd time, but I still don’t want to wake up. Maybe I’ll snooze just one more time? I decided to go for another snooze and go back to sleep. Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt. 9:30 AM. Against my will I get out of bed and head downstairs for my morning coffee and have breakfast.
I’ve arranged to meet Anna today, so no time to waste. Anna is an old friend of me who I haven’t seen in years. We met during college and were close ever since. But she moved to New Babylon way before me, and since she moved we sort of disconnected. Sure we still chatted and Facetimed, but we lived too far apart to actually meet. So I’m eager to see her again.
It’s around 10 AM when I head into streets and start my walk towards Anna’s place. It’s quite crowded today and another airship is flying by.
Day 8 – 11:15 AM
It’s 11:15 AM when I arrive at Anna’s place. She lives in an apartment in one of the classical buildings of New Babylon. It’s one of the buildings in the older part of the city, that was built before all the gigantic apartment towers started popping up. It’s a 5 story high apartment complex that was renovated and kept it historic charm.
Anna opens the door and we head inside. Her apartment walls are decorated with molded wooden panels and she has lovely classic furniture. We started chatting about all the things that happened to us in the past years and quickly several hours go by. Anna tells me about all the things that happened to her since she moved to New Babylon. The good and the bad.
Day 8 – 11:00 PM
That evening the sky was clear, so I decided to go to the rooftop of my apartment building to enjoy the cityscape by night. From the rooftop I can see incredibly far and all the lights in the buildings and streets are just perfect! It’s one of the most beautiful spots I know in the city and an incredible place to enjoy the view and process my day.
While sitting on the rooftop I think about how much I missed Anna and about all the things that happened to her since she moved here. Anna hasn’t had an easy time here, so she’s really happy that I’m here now so we can meet more often and we have someone we can rely on. And I’m really happy too. It’s good to have a friend.
Chapter 2 – A Hidden Message
Day 22 – 9:40 AM
It’s one of those days that you’re so comfortable in your bed that you don’t want to get out. Ever. But after 40 minutes of snoozing I finally decided to get out of my bed. I pick up my phone to see if I missed any important messages, but nothing important is amongst my notifications.
I open my closet and pick out some clothes. It’s a difficult choice, as I’m rather cold. But the forecast for today is good, so I’m in doubt about what I’ll wear. I picked out a short and a long dress and put both on the bed. I can’t seem to choose today. I then pick up my phone and go and sit on the rug in front of the bed. Time to check the weather forecast again. I don’t want to be warm all day by deciding to wear a winter dress.
Day 22 – 10:00 AM
After consulting the weather forecast, I decided to go with the shorter dress. I put on the dress and headed downstairs. I’m still rather cold, so I decided to turn on the fireplace. After the fireplace is lit up, it’s time for my morning routine. I turn on the coffee machine and make a fresh latte.
After taking a sip from my latte, I start preparing breakfast. I’m making eggs and bacon today. I take out the eggs from the fridge and start baking them. But when I put my eggs back in the fridge, I notice I’m running low on supplies. So time to order some more food. I take out my tablet and put in an order for some basic groceries. Next available delivery option is tomorrow morning. So I picked that option and placed my order.
Day 23 – 9:30 AM
Another day, another challenge for me to wake up. This time though I only snoozed for 30 minutes, so that’s slightly better right? I’m definitely not a morning person. I quickly get dressed and head downstairs to make a fresh latte.
About half an hour later, I get a notification on my phone that my food delivery is nearby. I head outside and can already spot the delivery drone flying through the street. It still amazes me how efficient it is, and how much more convenient it is then going to a supermarket for groceries.
The drone stops at my door and releases my box of items I ordered and then flies off again. I take the box, head inside and start to organize the items in the kitchen cupboards and storage room.
Day 23 – 10:30 AM
I’m a bit of a neat freak, so everything from my groceries needs to go into its dedicated place. After neatly organizing my groceries, I start preparing my breakfast. I’m going for something simple, yogurt with some fresh fruits. I turn on the TV and sit down on the sofa to watch something while I eat. I turn on the next episode of my favorite sitcom.
Half an hour later something strange is happening. My episode is interrupted with some strange noise and blurry feed. A bit later something that looks like a drone / camera is on my TV and starts to talk. It seems to be an encrypted message that I somehow received. But is it on purpose? Or is it an accident? That isn’t clear to me at all.
Day 23 – 10:32 AM
The encrypted message lasted for less than one minute. After that my TV just switched back to my sitcom episode and continued as if nothing happened. I can’t stop thinking about it. Why did I see this message? Did other people see it as well? It’s all very vague to me, and having seen it just once, I don’t fully remember the content of the message.
I quickly grab my tablet to note down what I do remember of the message. The message told me about a hidden device of sorts, somewhere in the megacity, New Babylon. The device contained important information about the future of the city. Something that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. I write this all down and then switch to what it showed me.
It wasn’t fully clear where the device was located. But I did see an old apartment complex being hit by lightning. And a map of sorts, with a square building in the middle and skyscrapers in the back. I made a quick sketch of what I saw.
Day 25 – 11:00 AM
It has been 2 days now since the weird message was shown on my TV. Originally I just ignored the message I saw, but the more time passes by, the more intrigued I’m to investigate it further. I can’t seem to let it rest, although I’m more and more convinced the message wasn’t intended for me at all. But that doesn’t seem to be able to change my mind.
Yesterday evening I had a long online discussion with Anna about what I saw and we agreed to investigate together. So that’s what we’re doing this afternoon. As the weather is nice today, I decided to leave a bit earlier and get some sunshine before I head over to Anna’s place. Some fresh air will also help me think. As I’m walking through the city, I see another airship flying around through the sky. Even after almost a month in New Babylon, it still amazes me every time I see one of those giant balloons flying over.
Day 25 – 12:30 PM
After clearing my head a little with some fresh air, I arrived at Anna’s place. I sit down on the sofa and Anna prepares me something to drink and eat. After enjoying a small, but tasteful, lunch; we go into brainstorming. We go over everything we know again and again and then decide to make some kind of clue cards about everything we know to create a visual wall.
We write cards with what I saw and what we know. I try my best to sketch what I saw and we search on the internet for old apartment buildings in the city and print the photos. We both enjoy this, maybe a bit too much!
An hour and a half later I’m standing in front of a wall where we put all of our clues together. Staring at how much we already know. Living in a world with so many technological possibilities, we did it on paper anyway. It helps me to think and somehow makes me more comfortable.
How Does it Work?
Our NFTS have a date and time in their title. This way you can organize them into the correct order. Every NFT will have a short part of the story attached to it.
The first NFTS are pre-written, but after that we let the community influence the story. So help us pick the direction the story evolves into on our Twitter.
Interested in our collection? Check us out on objkt.
Make sure to also check our other NFT collections on Tezos and Polygon.