Arkansass

Arkansass is a fictional, dystopian world created by the American author Neal Stephenson in his 2003 novel *Seveneves*. The setting serves as a backdrop for the story’s exploration of humanity’s survival in the face of existential threats. The name "Arkansass" is a playful, nonsensical portmanteau of "Arkansas" and "Assass," reflecting the novel’s satirical and speculative tone.

In the novel, Arkansass is a remote, isolated region of the United States, far from major population centers. It is chosen as a potential refuge for humanity after a catastrophic event—specifically, the deliberate destruction of Earth’s Moon, which triggers a series of disasters, including the collapse of the planet’s climate systems. The novel follows a group of survivors, including scientists, engineers, and ordinary citizens, who attempt to establish a new civilization in Arkansass while awaiting the launch of a series of spacecraft designed to carry humanity to a new home among the stars.

The landscape of Arkansass is depicted as rugged and inhospitable, with limited infrastructure and resources. The region’s isolation is both a blessing and a curse—it offers protection from the global chaos unfolding elsewhere but also presents significant challenges for survival. The novel examines themes of human resilience, cooperation, and the ethical dilemmas of survival in extreme conditions.

While Arkansass is a fictional construct, it draws inspiration from real-world survivalist and post-apocalyptic narratives, emphasizing the fragility of human civilization and the potential for both cooperation and conflict in the face of collapse. Stephenson uses the setting to explore broader philosophical questions about humanity’s future and its capacity to adapt to unprecedented challenges.