Kimberley Roelvink
Script for Movie
Future of Sophie and Laura
Scene 1 : Fortune teller 1990
Narrator: Around 25 years ago, in the middle of the Texel tradition ‘OUWE SUNDERKLAAS’, a woman named Marie saw a mysterious old man in the corner of the street. He had a small, hand-painted sign next to him, showing: ‘Fortune Teller’. Marie was pregnant and wanted to know what the future would bring for her child. She approached the fortune teller and said:
Marie: ‘Can you tell me the future of my child’.
Fortune Teller: ‘you are pregnant with twins’.
Narrator: Marie was astonished and sat down in front of him. She paid 1 Gulden and the Fortune Teller starts looking in the glazing ball.
Scene 2: separate lives Sophie/Laura
Narrator: The fortune teller starts telling his prophecy for the twins.
Fortune Teller: The first 20 years for your daughters will be pretty much the same. I foresee some technological innovations that will be integrated in daily life, like a digital communication platform and portable telephones. The real changes will start to take place somewhere in 2016: When 5 sperm whales will come ashore, a new period will start.
Marie: ‘I don’t understand it, why would they go along different paths?’
Fortune Teller: ‘They have different opinions about the way to go, they both want to improve the world, but in different ways.’
Marie: ‘Okay, can you tell me what will happen after?’
FT: ‘Yes, I see the future very clearly in my glass ball, but for more, I need another Gulden.’
Narrator: Marie gave him another Gulden and listened carefully.
Scene 3: 2016
Narrator: After a few seconds, the Fortune Teller continued her story
FT: I will start telling the story of Laura if you wish. She is your first daughter. She is growing up here on Texel and she will become inspired by the sea. She is intelligent and will study marine management on the mainland combined with a technical study at the TU Delft. In 2016, a big event happens, a group of “potvissen” whales washes up on the beach. She decides she will stay to do research, but unfortunately this is not possible on Texel, even though they have a science center. So, Laura will return after finishing her studies.
Marie: O I’m so glad she will return to the island.
Scene 4: 2020
Of course she will, but unfortunately around 2020, a social crisis takes place on Texel. All kinds of corporations and companies are working against each other. Your neighbors become to feel as competitors instead of friends, which disturbs the social coherence of the community.
Marie: But why do they do that?
Well my dear, that’s because everyone is focused on their own profits, they are very individualistic. The municipality on Texel will solve this problem by starting up an all connected University. Laura is very amused by this idea and wants to participate in the Texel University. She becomes the first professor in Marine Ecology & Management. Laura is really motivated to create digital education technologies which connect all Universities in Europe. The university becomes a social community meeting point, that attracts students, professors and innovative companies. The building has a many high tech innovations developed on Texel, like windows creating artificial sunlight and toilets that use micro-organisms to biodegrade all feces.
Marie: O god, my Laura will become a sort of Einstein combining the newest knowledge all over the world.
Scene 5: 2031
However, her life undergoes a dramatic change in 2031, when a big flood destroys most of Texel. The lower lands of Texel, where the university is located, submerge completely.
Marie: Will my sweet daughter survive this flood?
You naïve person, of course Laura does and her family too. They survive by using new innovations they created in the Texel University.
Scene 6: 2035
However, Texel has to be rebuilt as fast as possible, because it’s totally destroyed. Laura decides to build a new infrastructure above the island. Everything is made floating; floating houses, floating farms, floating agriculture, floating transportation and even a new floating Texel university. So, in this way Texel is protected against another flood. The university develops a new way of agriculture that deals with salt agriculture. Fish farms and food productions floating on salt water. The land use is super-efficient, the production is sky-high, there is no use of any kind of antibiotics and most waste is recycled.
Marie: But how will they do that?
Just by stacking up all layers above each other. My vision is clear, I see fish farms, with growing carrots above it, sheep are grazing and cars flying above it.
Marie: Ow, this is so exiting, please tell me more.
Scene 7: 2049
Of course I will tell you more, since I see another disaster coming up in my crystal ball. During the continuous periods, Laura is directly in contact with her sister. With the brains of Laura and her sister’s business skills, they secretly create virtual reality tourism. Other kinds of pioneering innovations such as bio-rhythm alarm clocks, that focus on optimizing her health, appear on the market. Laura creates an Online 5D learning environment for her students to enable life-long learning.
Marie: What does 5D even mean?
I will tell you my dear, it’s a copy of the same experience of real life. You can feel the wind, the rain, the sunshine, the smells, the temperature, and enjoy the beautiful landscape from off your home.
Marie: But why, all these ideas sounds so immoral?
Because, Laura wants to be one step ahead from the rest of the world by being innovative and forget ethical values. Because of the 5D technology people no longer have to visit another place anymore. There is a crisis in the community because the social contact is gone.
Schools are getting empty and therefore Laura loses her job as a professor. She experiences a mid-life crisis.
Scene 8: 2065
Marie: Will she be healthy at least?
Yes, her health is in optimal condition, because machines continuously check her health, and prevent diseases.
Marie: But how do these machines work?
I’m a just fortune teller, I don’t understand technology very well. But let me continue my story. Laura tries to go back to the most important values in human life.
Marie: What are those values in life?
Those values are real human interaction, with close friends, family, and the Texel community. These values have been neglected due to VR technology, and this caused many people experiencing isolation and depression. Sophie decides to get back into contact with her physical self by becoming a yoga teacher.
The second value in life is to do something good. For Sophie this means she starts a foundation to improve social contact in the community of Texel. Texelaars see her as a social contact guru, because she helps other people to reduce stress and balance their life by going back to real human interaction.
Scene 9: 1990 – Switch to Sophie
Marie: But how, this sounds incredible, just like a movie. Would the future for my other daughter be just as exciting?
FT: ‘Yes, I see the future very clearly in my glass ball, but if you want me to tell you more, I need another Gulden.’
Narrator: Marie gave another Gulden and listened carefully what was coming next.
Scene 10: 2016
Your second daughter is called Sophie. Sophie is not willing to leave the island because she feels safe and comfortable in this community. Instead she is working in a local Café and only has an income during the summer. As Sophie and Laura are catching up, while sightseeing the washed up whales, she gets inspired by her sister to start her own company that will add value to Texel.
Marie: Ow I’m so happy she stays on the island and as a young independent woman start her own business. But what kind of business will it become?
Scene 11: 2020
I see Sophie will start her own Bed & Breakfast in 2020. Her company is part of Texel’s cooperative business platform, called Texel holding. Texel residents can buy shares in this platform and become part of this initiative, just like TESO.
Marie: Why would she join a cooperative?
Well my glass ball tells me Laura experiences increased profits and her business will standing strong against other big dominant companies and due to business collaborations, she can easily share and improve new innovations. I foresee a nice example of one of these innovations; The water that will be used in her Bed & Breakfast is cleaned in a closed cycle, so less water is used. Also, there are no problems with relations being destroyed over money, since there is a third party that controls all money transfers automatically.
Marie: Ow that’s so great, they never have to worry about money in the future.
Scene 12: 2031
Do not cheer to early. The great flood in 2031 will destroy her business, alongside other touristic accommodations. Just like her sister, she and her family will survive.
Marie: But will the Teso survive?
Of course it will, it’s a boat.
Scene 13: 2035
Sophie is going to rebuild her company in a very sustainable way. Laura suggest to start a company in sustainable high quality tourism. Laura’s students invent a smart supporting device, which they call BOB, who could help her to make sustainable decisions.
Marie: BOB? What do you mean?
BOB creates more sustainable awareness within a static lifestyle. It is an online database, that can make more rational decisions due to its limitless knowledge, much like glass ball.
Sophie and Laura want to take it even a step further. What could be more sustainable than not visiting the island at all? The sisters will look into virtual reality tourism, but in secret, since the island community doesn’t approve of it. The Texel community values control in tourism, because it’s a huge source of income. VR tourism might spy on people and doesn’t offer the friendly face to tourists. They don’t call it a “hospitality industry” for nothing.
Scene 13b
Luckily for Sophie the VR tourism will become very successful. Texel Holding will develop specialized clothing that gives Sophie the ability to fly. The suit is reconstructed from waste material. Due to her fast way of travelling, she gains more free time to enjoy Texel’s beautiful Nature, which makes her happy.
Marie: Dear Future teller, please tell me more, I’m so curious?
Scene 14: 2049
In 2049, virtual reality tourism will completely destroy the physical tourism on the island. The community finds out Sophie is behind this betrayal and they kick her out of the cooperative business platform.
Marie: No, they can’t do that
Of course they can, this is Texel. The people of Texel have central values such as trust and transparency and Sophie broke them all because she is a naught crazy dishonest researcher.
Scene 15: 2065
Now, Sophie and her business are no longer a part of Texel. To save her business and because she values her community, Sophie switches from virtual reality tourism back to high quality tourism. She starts a transparent and cooperative business model along with multiple locals. Eventually the shareholders of Texel Holding invite her back into the platform.
Marie: But, why does she want to go back into the Texel holding?
Because sharing creates more profit in the end. They create closed loop business models. Without the brand, she cannot promote herself. Luckily, Texel is a forgiving community, they want to be inclusive. Sophie’s high quality tourism really can add to attractiveness of the island. At the same time, a monopoly on the island is proven to be impossible.
Texel is now a self-sufficient independent community. There is no waste nor any pollution.
Scene 16: 1990
Marie: I think I’ve heard enough. This is all too much for me, my head hurts, it feels like an exploding whale. I think I have to leave and get some rest.
FT: No, wait, I can also tell your future if you give me another Gulden. Gnegnegnegne.
Narrator: His voice was not loud enough to overcome the sound of the storm and Marie had already left for her home. She never truly believed this prophecy. That is, until Marie, Laura and Sophie visited five whales washed up on the shore in 2016.
*CREDITS ROLL*