Post Nuclear Family – This is the reunion site for the Post Nuclear Family. Mutants are welcome.

7 Voyages of the Sensatron from Jason Siadek on Vimeo.

 

Let’s get this spaceship back into deepest space!

THE STORY OF THE SENSATRON 

About 5000 years ago, an alien species that was watching our planet saw the first pyramids and said, “Whoa!  There’s finally some sort of sentient thing going on down there! We don’t know why they’re building pyramids, so let’s send a probe to go check it out.”

The aliens of the Sensatron live in P Cygni. A luminous blue variable star deep in the Cygnus constellation.  It is one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way galaxy but it’s clouded behind a nebula so it appears dim to us.  The aliens of P Cygni are not quite as advanced as the aliens of Vega, but far more advanced than the aliens of Solaris.  They sent a sort of psychic emanation at the speed of light for us to build a machine that can convert various stimuli into pulses of light, by way of an array of LEDs floating atop a traveling pyramid.  The Cygnans figured that we would recognize a pyramid as a familiar shape to our primitive world and they wanted to blend in and not cause panic.

So the Sensatron drives around the playa taking in art, meeting people and bringing light and music wherever it goes. It is designed for experience, with a large cushiony deck on the back and a platform about halfway up the pyramid.

It’s not a car per se, it’s more like a roving piece of art for the denizens of the playa to trip their balls off on. Fortunately, all of us are denizens of the playa.

The Sensatron has changed over the years but its mission of beaming news of our world back to P Cygni has remained.

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES OF THE SENSATRON

PASSENGERS:

  • (SAFETY) The Sensatron was made to share the playa with everyone.  It can hold as many people as we can safely fit, without blocking the eyeline of the driver.  If we have more than “way too many people” it becomes a drag—figuliterally.  If someone is barely hanging on, let the driver know and the Sensei will come to a slow stop and clear off some ballast. Due to the rules of BMOrg we must come to a complete stop for all boarding and disembarking, regardless of how much you might think you have it handled.  We need to set a good example for everyone aboard and it’s the rules.
  • (THE PLATFORM) Passengers should enter and exit the platform from the rear. The hood is not designed to withstand people jumping down onto it.
  • (DRUGS) Cops. Just… fuckin’ cops. Everywhere. Even undercover. Please don’t do any drugs on the Sensatron. Open containers are okay, but keep all alcohol out of reach of the driver. Cops are watching us go by, looking for a reason to stop and search everyone on the vehicle. It would provide a perverse thrill to them, and the worst thing you can do is indulge a cop’s perversions. They’re… “cops”. They draw guns on stoned people. Cops are no joke, and they’re not to be taunted or flouted.
  • (SLEEPERS) Falling asleep on the Sens@tron is sublime, but make way for new people if you can. But if it’s going back out and you’re going to black out, you should make your way to your tent. Another way to think of it: you shouldn’t be mad at someone if they step on your face.
  • (MUSIC) The music system is shared by a lot of people with fantastic music collections. Let the driver know that you would like to DJ and you will move into rotation. If you spend the whole time worrying that your music is better than what’s on, then you’re missing out on what’s happening.

CREW:

  • (VIGILANCE) You have POWER. If someone is being unsafe or an asshole in any way, be cool and deal with it with patience and authority if you’re up for it. And/or otherwise let the driver know, and the Sens@tron will come to a complete stop and we can all work together to resolve the problem. (That said, please don’t power trip. The Sens@tron lives for p@ssengers!)
  • (LOOKOUTS) We’re a team, all of us are the eyes and ears so keep a lookout for trouble and fucked up bullshit. If you see a situation evolving, please speak up.
  • (SWEETNESS) Even if your role on the playa is as a “Bullhorn Asshole”, the Sensatron is not. As a representative of something beautiful and loving, let’s all try to be cool.
  • (SAFETY) “One hand for the boat” Feel free to dance and play, but keep in mind that the car will stop unexpectedly, so hang on to a point of contact with the car (especially on the go-go lookout perches!). It’s embarrassing and you’ll feel really sorry if you still have consciousness, regardless of whether you still have feeling from your neck down. I say this to be serious: don’t fall.

DRIVERS:

Some of these rules are BMOrg, some are common sense. In any event, if we break these rules we could lose our license. Many of these rules start with “No” but so much of the experience is “fuck yeah!”, so don’t let the rules get you down.

1) No fucked up drivers. We must entrust the sobriety and sensibility of any potential drivers. It’s not a “my turn” situation. If you don’t have an Apgar score of 10 then just enjoy the ride.
2) 5MPH MAX speed.
3) No driving on streets with lamps. You can cross those streets but you can’t drive inside them unless you’re heading down a spoke to the open playa. You’re not allowed to drive inside the circle of lights around the Man.
4) No driving in white-outs. If you can’t see, we can’t move.
5) Driving the Sensatron is an exercise in the Tao. Be cool and everything will be cool. If the driver complains, yells at people, tells people to fuck off, pretends that there’s no room, blasts obnoxious music, spouts off about politics, religion, etc. then passengers will tend to respond with that energy. Also, you’d be missing out on having an opportunity to channel an alien that is supremely cool. There’s a lot of patience and compassion in those 4 cylinders.
6) Avoid sudden stops. Try to start and stop as slowly as you can. Consider it a challenge to make people unaware that we’ve come to a stop.
7) Take people where they want to go. It’s up to you, but when we can return a defeated sparkle pony to their camp or save a passed out darkwad it adds a little more voltage to the LEDs up above.
8) When you can’t see don’t drive. If a crowd is blocking your view then enlist people that are sober enough to maintain intelligent contact with you while you navigate through a crowd or around dangerous shoals.
9) If you’re low on gas, refill. If the spare can is empty then make your way back to camp. Running out of gas on the playa is a lame walk of shame for all involved.
10) No strangers on the hood, no strangers on the front of the car. WE are the only ones allowed on the go-go perches. We don’t want a stranger becoming a liability.
11) If DMV, BMorg, PD, Federalis, or BLM approach you, respond courteously and respectfully and come to a complete stop. If your rights are being violated then stick with your ACLU response, but don’t challenge officials with a power trip. If police request to search the car, the answer is NO.
12) Consider everyone else as having the right of way. Come to a gentle stop and let people, bikes, other art cars, etc. all pass majestically by. If they want to give the right of way to you, wave politely and take it slowly with a smile. That goes for crowds, too. If there’s too many people in front of you, ask for some spotters to help move people and bikes, but remember: everyone else has the right of way so let those people decide to make space for you on their terms and timetable.
13) Use your common sense. That might sound obvious, but the “yes” culture doesn’t necessarily mean sharing just because someone asks to drive. Jason Siadek is responsible for the car, so if you let someone else drive and they leave you in a cloud of dust then you have broken the chain of trust. Stay vigilant. In 2009 we had a joy rider try to drive away but some vigilant campmates were able to subdue him and keep the car from driving into a crowd. Who knows how far he would have gone, but that’s something better left not knowing.
14) We have missions throughout the week so please check in with Jason Siadek before taking the Sensatron for a spin, even if you’ve already been previously cleared for takeoff.
15) Avoid dunes. Keep an eye out or watch for spotters and give the dune a wide berth. The Sensatron is over 5000 years old and it has very low clearance. If you bottom out, get everyone off and see if you can clear it. If you’re not able to figure out your car trouble there’s only moderate shame in abandoning it out on the playa and bringing the keys back to camp (taking careful note of where it’s parked!). If anyone is up front on the perches let them know you see a mound.
16) Try not to park for too long. Just because everyone wants to go dance doesn’t mean the Sensatron has to stick around. Ride on, maybe come back by, but the Sensatron is not meant to be parked long.
17) 17?! Why are there 17 rules?! This is actually a stress-free gig. If you can stay cool and have a flow with your spotters then everything goes smoothly. These rules aren’t meant to be a list to be memorized, these are more like chapters in a book that you “get”.
18) The Sensatron is not a car, it’s an art piece. Try to enjoy being a part of the expression of its art in how you drive, where you go, how you interact with passengers. Even if you’re not into being cool with strangers and having patience for their entitled trips, just try to channel that ancient and distant alien that’s wondrously enchanted by Earthlings and all their frailties. If you think of the Sensatron as a janky car that has Christmas tree lights blinking on it, then it might not be visible to you. Ride for awhile until you get it, and /then/ take it for a spin.

Even though they’re no longer married, here’s Jason and Julianne’s wedding video aboard the Sensatron:

OLD MOVIES OF THE FIRST YEARS


The Sensatron translates various data into light so that other worlds can “see” what the Sensatron “experiences”.

We originally used the Cubatron LED technology along with programming and sensors to create a huge visualizer, that hung the lights like an umbrella around the perimeter of the car.

2009

Sensatron 5000 (Day, 2009)

 

 

The Sensatron has been updated each year with new code, new stereos, new fabric, new flags, new technologies.

It was very simple, just a multi-leveled lounging platform, with an umbrella-esque structure looming above, like an umbrella with just the wires and no fabric, and it had strings of big multi-colored lights hanging down from the tips of each umbrella wire. As it drove across the playa, the dangling lights would sorta dance and bounce.

It’s hard to put into words the meaningfulness of the piece to me, but if you watched it jangle across the playa from a distance, it was the same image/movement as had been in some dreams right before Burning Man, directing me toward a different energy in my life. Part of my growth and healing, so to say. I saw it in so many different places throughout the week (unlike other cars, which I seemed to only spot once or twice), and it was always at very opportune times. You know, synchronistic and such.

-Eyewitness account from Shane @ Shady Waffle Camp

 

more evidence of this reality here!




Archived messages:

 

May 23rd, 2016

The Sensatron has been approved for onsite inspection! We’re going to the playa!

The indiegogo campaign is underway! Help spread the word by sharing the link, and please donate some money or time if you can, we can use all the help we can get. The Sensatron is getting an overhaul this year!

January 27, 2016

The Burning Man Department of Mutated Vehicles has changed their acceptance process! The criteria for art cars has gone way up and they have ended the appeal process (in its early years the Sensatron had to appeal twice).

So. In order for the Sensatron to return to the playa, we need to step this up a skosh!

The Sensi needs repairs,

it needs new decor on its front hood,

it needs new light strands,

it needs money for storage in the off season,

and the Sensatron needs an exit strategy to get off the playa if it ever stops transmitting back to P-Cygni.

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