Hey there, science fiction. Defence contractor, Pegasus Global Holdings is building a replica of Rock Hill, a South Carolina city, in the middle of the New Mexico desert as a testing ground for futuristic infrastructures – self-driving cars, green buildings and next-generation Wi-Fi. It’ll be an uninhabited laboratory – they’re calling it “an amusement park for scientists.”

From the Rock Hill Herald:

Earlier this week, Pegasus Global Holdings announced it would build City Labs near Hobbs, N.M. Pegasus selected the site because of the cost of the land, access to electricity and the proximity to federal and university testing labs.

The initial investment will be about $400 million and could expand to $1 billion over 10 years. The project – officially called the Center for Innovation, Technology and Testing – is expected to create 350 permanent jobs in an area hard hit by the oil bust of 1980s.

“Pegasus Holdings’ Centre for Innovation, Technology and Testing” has a 1970’s-Bond sort of ring to it. Especially since Pegasus is a defense contractor.

Since nobody lives in the buildings, there’ll be computerized systems in place to mimic human behaviour, turning thermostats up and down, switching lights off and on, flushing toilets and such.

The next step is fencing off the property, throwing in some people and some weapons, and letting whoever survives go free.

[Source: Slashdot]