One day, an aggregate of rocks and minerals falls on Earth. The ground impact cracks it, revealing its interior: it is full of numbers, like the ones we now know, in the form of domino pieces. An alchemist and student of the phenomena of nature directly observes the meteorite which falls right in the middle of his workspace. This new element (the number) will cause a huge transformation in the observation methods he applies and will be responsible for profound changes within his community.

Before the fall of this object, and before numbers, there was no counting, no metering, no measurement. Observation techniques – such as the use of lenses or photographic recording – and even some of matter manipulation – such as cooking, or sculpting – were already used, however without a numerical consciousness. Practices such as weaving, calculating, urban planning, and counting votes did not exist. In his studies up to this point, measurements were made using comparison methods: the shadow of a rock served as a dimensional reference, the darkness of night served as a time reference, the surface of leaves as a geometric reference, and stones as a weight reference. What happens when these numbers appear and are given to us, when the reference becomes something more abstract and dissociated from our environment? What happens to science, to observation, and to our interaction with the material world? Where do these numbers come from?

O Vapor dos Números is a performative installation that follows the reception of this meteorite of numbers and the consequent transformation of the methods of observation, interpretation and organization of matter that it provokes. Cru Encarnação seeks to build an immersive environment towards this speculative fiction, inviting the audience to stay in the space as long as they wish. The performance will last 5 hours and will be divided into 4 acts, which can always be seen separately.