Hyperstructures, hypercultures, hypercommons, hypercuration... hypersub.
Additionally, the meme that I played with before serendipity introduced onchain hyperfied memes to me was hypercreation. More accurately, modular-hypercreation.
It was a take on ADHD 'constructively' channeled into extraordinary output levels with novel forms of personal organization systems. Since then it's meaning seems to be in transit when I think about it.
All of that rambling is context to introduce one last project on my slate for q1 - Shadows.
Shadows
In 2021 I tried doing this idea under the name Primes. The core idea is to experiment with human and ai collaboration at scale across longer time horizons.
Having already written 2 absolutely terrible books that will never see the light of day, the prospect of writing a third presented friction. In earnest, I just did not feel like slogging away on 150-300 pages, again, to realize there's nothing but life lessons to take from the experience.
Enter artificial intelligence.
This kind of experiment is niche. Many feel guttural level resistance to the notion of ai constructed creative outputs. It's understandable.
What interests me, however, is the dynamic where ai is telling me a story that I want to hear. Characters that I design, story arcs that I've chosen, dialogue that I imagine.
After ~ 5 chapters into the experiment, with a handful of colorful characters created and dialogue woven between them, I became aware of Fabric's hypersub protocol. An onchain Patreon, Substack, or Onlyfans - that allows creators to leverage L2 EVM fees, all the popular marketplaces, while token-gating experiences for the resonant demo.
Hypersub
After a conversation with Jack Kaido about emotional currency I realized this experiment would have a better chance at 'success' if it included more minds. Simultaneously, it's a project that would greatly suffer from 'too many cooks in the kitchen'.
This is why I've priced the monthly sub at Ξ.03 & gated creative direction privileges to those that put the most 'skin in the game'.
Here is the description directly from my subscription page:
Shadows is a hyper-creative literature project being written by LGHT x AI LLMs. It already has a plot, setting, main characters, and ~ 5 chapters written.
Subscribers are not responsible for writing Shadows, but can have an influence on its direction.
Rewards are tiered by time allotment:
1m = 1 airdrop per month related to the novel.
3m = airdrops + bonus 1/1 raffles quarterly.
6m = airdrops + bonus raffles + bonus media.
1yr = all the above + creative direction privileges
Outside of direct impact on the novel, subscribers will receive media, art, character designs, and whole chapters pre-publishing.
Once Shadows is finished there will be a funding event (onchain) to publish physical copies. Certain tiers will have privileges in that event as well as opportunities to earn from book sales.
The tldr is:
every month subscribers get an airdrop from the creative production of the book
chapters
storyboards
video/audio sessions
art
subscribers that sign up for more than a month get additional pieces from the months session
subscribers that sign up for a year will collaborate with me to actually direct the novel
There will be a token gated chat for us to share inspo, bounce ideas around, etc. But the pacing of the project will not be rushed. We will start with a monthly cadence, with the possibility of accelerating should we gain significant traction.
Post Op
If, and it's a significant if, we are successful at producing a finished novel (that we are proud of), we will then set up a crowdfund on Fabric to make physical copies.
Subscribers will share in any profits (exact breakdown TBD).
Best case:
we make an awesome sci-fi book
we have a badass onchain discography of the pieces made in real time
we sell physical copies and enjoy the rewards as a collective
Worst case:
we make a shitty book
Seems worth a shot to me.
You can subscribe here: https://hypersub.withfabric.xyz/collection/shadows-bju72cqjtm2o?tab=subscription
