The Windup Girl
The Windup Girl is set in 23rd-century Thailand. Global warming has raised the level of world's oceans, carbon fuel sources have become depleted, and manually wound springs are used as energy storage devices. The scene I focused on features around the SpringLife Factory, owned by Anderson Lake the protagonist, this is moderately size production line style factory producing “Kink Springs” (a type of battery with workings similar to a clockwork toy but on a much larger scale).
The Factory is set in the fictional industrial district of Bangkok which is surrounded by markets and housing for its many workers. Without the use of carbon fuels many operations in the factory are completed through manual labour of both the workers and a team of genetically engineered elephants called megodonts, who power provide the majority of the power for the factory turning. The Factory itself is split into several sections; the power section which features the megodonts and has off shoots to the foreman’s
A pair of genetically altered elephants provides the main power source for the factory; they walk endless circles to keep the production line running. This early morning scene shows the workers preparing for the start of the day.
The foreman’s office provides a calmer control centre for the factory the ceiling fans battle away at the hot midday sun as the room fills with thick smoke of burning incense.
The factory creates a product called ‘KinkSprings’ which store kinetic energy, the main component are large person, sized springs which are made in the factory using a real life method called ‘Hot Winding’.
This side of the factory has a very different feel and the large tanks mix together a living algae that is the sprayed onto the springs. The space is damp and humid and there’s a slightly rotten feeling to the room.