Body of a Nation (BON)

Introduction

This project emerged from several converging experiences: widespread layoffs in the IT industry, increasing dependence on external supply chains and outsourcing, and my own time spent caring for multiple ill family members. Added to this is a historical pattern we’ve seen repeatedly—nations reach a peak, fail to correct their vulnerabilities, and then decline.

I believe we are at a moment where we can reclaim what has been lost. AGI has little value if it cannot support the very humanity that created it. Too many builders are focused on becoming the dominant force over others, but real progress requires that we become smarter together. It only takes one actor to cause harm to many. The fantasy of becoming the “person in the high tower” serves no one.

With that in mind, I set out to develop a conceptual model that treats a nation as a living system. If we inhabit this shared “vessel,” we should maintain it—avoiding shocks, promoting stability, and ensuring equitable performance across national boundaries. In this model, each nation is a self‑identifying entity with its own internal capacities, while an exchange layer monitors resource levels between nations. When one nation falters, the others contribute to stabilize it.

However, people often don’t appreciate the importance of resilience until it’s gone. That’s why the exchange server in the simulation has a second purpose: it can instantly sever supply chains. This mirrors the real‑world scenario of two major powers entering conflict overnight—supply flows stop, industries stall, and nations without internal capacity struggle to recover.

This is not a nationalist argument. Every nation should participate in maintaining reliable resilience levels. For many, this means re‑establishing minimal internal capabilities across the industries that underpin modern life—metals, rare minerals, energy, food, beverages, and the technologies that define cultural advancement such as AR/VR. Each should be produced domestically to a baseline level.

In a real‑world implementation, the exchange layer would observe global markets and determine when and how to apply tariffs or other measures to protect national security from malicious external pressures.

The following pages in this portfolio present several simulation attempts—mathematical models using recurrence relations—and a fully functional BON simulation built around the idea of nations sharing a synchronized “heartbeat.”

My hope is that this work highlights both the risks and the possibilities: that we can prevent nations from fading into irrelevance, avoid empowering future tyrants, and steer humanity away from a path that could degrade our planet into something barren and lifeless.

Positive thoughts to you all,
Evan