Dilemma #5: Rebuild or Reimagine?
You're still here.
In the weeks since the fire, the community has shifted.
You remember the heat, the scramble, the call to dig and defend. You remember the quiet resolve of the ones who stayed behind. Thanks to your efforts, the fire break has held, the flames have subsided, and scorched hills now frame new beginnings.
Makeshift radio towers hum with static-and-code.
Families gather in parks turned pop-up schools.
Local greenhouses have replaced fragile food supply chains.
A few DIY local area networks are slowly bringing some digital communications back.
Yet “recovery” still looks different without the internet. There are no centralized updates, no clean blueprints to download. Everything must be remade, by voice, by consensus.
The crisis forced people to step up — and stay. And you’ve been part of this movement, shaping its culture, offering your labour, ideas, or support.
But now, with the basics stabilizing, a new divide emerges.
Two Visions. One Crossroads.
In the heart of town — once a school gym, now a civic forum — two new camps have emerged on the topic of recovery.
One group wants to restore what was lost.
They dream of reinstating the systems that once kept order: banks, courts, a mayor’s office. They're sourcing printed textbooks, eyeing long-dormant municipal plans, even debating how to reestablish taxes and elections.
"We need a return to structure," they say. "We can’t live in improvisation forever."
The other group isn’t so sure.
They’ve spent these weeks prototyping a different way of life — community gardens, peer-to-peer barter systems, decentralized mesh networks powered by salvaged tech. For them, the collapse was an opportunity.
"Why rebuild the world that failed us?" they ask. "Why not start over — and do better?"
Your name is already on two whiteboards — one for organizing food distribution, one for a neighborhood LAN network expansion. You’re part of both conversations. And as talk turns to elections, land allocation, even the idea of a new constitution, a choice is pressing in:
Will you fight to rebuild the old world — or help prototype a new one?
There’s no clean break between the two. You can admire the efficiencies of the past while distrusting who they served. You can crave stability while dreaming of justice. But eventually, the visions will diverge.
And your decision will shape not just your future, but the foundation for whoever comes next.
Signed,
Dispatch Control
Time for the final dilemma input survey
Please respond by Thursday to have your input compiled for our debrief on Friday.
New to the simulation?
Check out the Opening Scenario and earlier Dilemmas, then come back here:
✍️ Weekly Artifact Prompt
Blueprints from the Brink
In the wake of collapse, you’ve been asked to contribute to the foundation of what comes next.
This week, we want you to imagine yourself in that gymnasium-turned-town-hall, invited to present one artifact that captures your vision for the future — a manifesto, a tool, a tradition, a symbol, a proposal, or a warning.
(If you feel called to share, tag us on Instagram @theclimateverse with the hashtag #WorldWithoutInternet)
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Climateverse to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.