Our New Neolithic Age

Branding the present-day as The Neolithic Age was the most brilliant marketing ploy of our generation. Products from smartphones through electric cars to wind farms use increasing amounts of rare and semi-rare earth elements. Companies involved in mining, refining and production decided to come together and promote these elements as the cornerstone of our civilisation. And it worked. The ploy's sole drawback was that it crystallised opposition to these corporate interests, opposition that has only grown bolder and more aggressive over time. When the largest of the companies gives an invaluable gift to a struggling museum, the museum becomes a lightning rod for this conflict, dangerously upending the lives of everyone involved.