NanoClimes

Earth: 2110

NanoClime is a technology that alters ambient temperature and humidity within a 15 meter radius. The technology is not a gadget, it is more like a medicinal remedy that remedies something outside the body (local climate). A user of NanoClime creates a custom serum to injest, that then operates in the human body for no less than 24 hours, and except in bizarre cases, never more than 48 hours. A person becomes the "engine" for NanoClime processes, the person is called a "climate-engine" in most English speaking slang.

When the meds are being made, the person making the batch selects the desired temp and humidity. This is the reason most people wanting to be a climate-engine make their own -very few people want to endure climate settings set to someone else's extremely different preferences.

Like all complex technologies, this one started out expensive and for wealthy early adopters. Then after thirty years it became something so common it is traded in shanty towns. It currently costs $80 for a year long supply.

NanoClimes can only try to alter the temperature and humidity near its climate-engine. Wind is the main hindrance to achieving the desired levels. Of course extreme difference with the general climate and one's desired levels -e.g. wanting your local environment to be wet and warm while in northern Siberia during winter.

People can set their desired levels to whatever they want, but this is not magic, their is an effect on the body. If the person does want something extreme -a tropical local clime while walking in a Siberian windstorm- then their climate-engine has to work at a higher output, resulting in trembling. The trembling ranges from nonexistent to visibly awkward depending on how hard the climate-engine is having to work.

Once NanoClimes became ubiquitous, all these micro-climates began to effect the general weather, and create global climate change. New jet-streams and ocean currents emerged, new patterns of dust storms and tornadoes emerged also.

All hell broke loose.

And not just in the sky, but in political discourse as well.

NanoClimes became an allegory to describe our psychological political selves. Since everyone knew all too well the effect of NanoClimes, the simplest person could grasp this allegory.

The allegory explored how almost all humans have a political/cultural preference -with some wanting to focus on a culture that makes it easy for them to practice their religion, others wanting to focus on economy and themselves having a chance to be wealthier and mobile, and then infinitude of preferences answering to "which kind of religion" and "which kind of economy". The allegory of the NanoClimes brought to the fore how we use voting or some other technology to try and make our world a little more to our liking.

This allegory became popular the world over. People began to see the futility of politics if it is all about one's personal preferences.