Empire at Sea

Empire At Sea is a Solarpunk AR drama about a group of climate scientists who move to a remote oil rig for their summer sabbatical to attempt to create a sustainable city at sea. Halfway through the summer, the big one hits and wipes out the mainland. Unable to make contact, they must fend for themselves. This episodic, interactive drama was commissioned by the Lincoln Center. It speaks directly to the climate change generation with a thrilling father-daughter story that addresses themes of sustainability, immigration, and multicultural communities. It features a diverse and recognizable cast, including Orlando Jones, Ayelet Zurer, Geoffrey Arend, and Beth Grant. MAIN CREATOR’S STATEMENT Climate science has a communication problem. How do we make climate science feel urgent, culturally resonant, and emotionally real for a broad public? The data is clear, the models are precise, and the urgency is beyond dispute — yet the public understanding of what climate change means for human communities, relationships, and survival remains dangerously abstract. Empire At Sea was built to use breakthrough holographic technology to make climate science emotionally immediate for the audiences who need it most: the younger generations who will live within the consequences of inaction. The dramatic story presents scientific concepts with integrity: insect protein as sustainable nutrition, water reclamation, and offshore renewable energy infrastructure. The Solarpunk genre in which the story operates is explicitly optimistic about science and human ingenuity, making it a uniquely powerful vehicle for communication and social change.