We imagine a future in which Silicon Valley’s most successful and forward thinking company Horizon Enterprises, moves its facilities to Anchorage in fear of what's to come.  Their operational base would be established years before one-child policies became mandatory across the globe.  In some countries, ethnic cleansing was even justified in the name of sustainability.  Though in the United States, our union disbanded after a flurry of environmental and political disasters.

 

As American territories splintered off and formed red and blue state alliances, Alaska regained its sovereignty.  This enabled Horizon to transform Anchorage into a self-governing city-state.  In a short time, their innovative technologies enabled a once rural land to become a green and global safe haven.  However, as word of its sanctuary began to spread, massive immigration surges forced leaders to build a wall around its borders.

 

But these security measures weren't enough and serious solutions for population control were called for.  A Department of Preservation was created so that scientific data could render climate predictions against the census numbers, utilizing Artificial Intelligence to quantize the population number that is sustainable.  The D.O.P. thus began issuing a “selection” process to its citizens - a mandatory lottery to determine who could retain residency.  Participants would be subject to a series of interviews about their contributions to society.  Determining factors would include: age, health, seniority, criminal record and vocation.

 

This show draws attention to one of the many Selections taking place throughout the city-state.  Each episode unfolds in real time inside a government selection chamber, where ten citizens wait to learn who will lose their right to live in the city. As tensions rise, we peel back the life stories of those inside — revealing how personal choices, privilege, and survival collide when society is forced to assign value to human life. Through their backstories, we learn what has led both them and the world to such a chaotic moment in history. 

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