Born in Vietnam.
One month later, the family lights incense for her first-month feast.
Then you live it, a year at a time.
Your country's numbers set the odds. Your choices leave marks that follow you to the end. Here is one life it can deal you, starting in a village in Vietnam.
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0
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11
The family needs another pair of hands. Your teacher came by to say you are worth schooling.
She stays in school.
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22
There is a way to work abroad. It takes a large deposit.
She borrows the money and goes.
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28
The contract is up. Go home, or stay on without papers.
She goes home. Because she went, this question only exists in her life.
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60
You reached the edge of the village. Nobody recognised you, but your feet knew the way.
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74
Died at 74.
The average for a girl born in Vietnam is 79.
Vietnam, 2026 – 2100
Nguyễn Thị Lan
Born in a village in the north. Finished secondary school. Worked six years in a factory abroad and came home to pay the debt. Married at 31, two children, one grandchild. She asked that nobody grieve too long.
- Health
- 41
- Happiness
- 68
- Knowledge
- 57
- Relationships
- 82
At the end, a record of one whole life.
Every life closes with an obituary like this one: where you began, how long you lived next to your country's average, and what you left behind. Add a few last words, then share it as a story card.
Then begin again, somewhere else on Earth.
Made to be played slowly
- Hand-painted scenes for 25 regions, from the first-month feast in Vietnam to the naming day in West Africa.
- Recorded music that changes with each stage of life.
- English, Français, Español, 中文, 日本語, 한국어 and Tiếng Việt.
- No account, no connection needed. It plays on a plane.
iPhone version later.