XENO II (2023)
Rachel Armstrong, Rolf Hughes and Anna Vershinina

Xeno II is a wayward being—a mutant cyborg spawned by the erratic impulses between ‘living’ hydroponics systems, artificial intelligence, and biofilms. It evolves a new metabolism that draws electricity from root microbes and turns toxins into nutrients. This allows it to diversify its energy and nutrient sources beyond the solar radiation and carbon dioxide in the thin atmosphere of “Laputa”, a skyhook city. Using this competitive advantage over the surrounding cyborg plant ‘Climbers’, Xeno II deploys AI to recruit mutant allies, establishing the foundations for thriving aerial gardens and enabling new kinds of biodiverse settlements to take hold in the sky.