Sunday, 29 December 2013

A TRIP TO THE FUTURE

 Today is Monday, 30th May, 2050, and I am now sixty-X years old. I have become a loving husband, a father of five children and seven grandchildren. My lovely wife had just gone to stay with my second daughter who has given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Frankly speaking, things have by far changed from what it was yesterday, 29th December, 2013. The changes are just too enormous and hard to believe.


Unlike yesterday, I, like most people on earth, now have a human-size robot that does almost all the chores for me. To mention but a few, it cleans the house, washes the cars, feeds the dogs, checks for our dirty clothes and washes them. However, those tasks are not too difficult for it because it is physically strong, has an extremely fast processing speed of about 12.5GHz, and it has a very excellent artificial intelligence which makes it react to situations just like humans do. The robot updates its “intelligence” automatically from the cloud whenever it has need for that.

The gadgets and appliances at home are extremely sophisticated than those of yesterday, thereby making the tasks very easy for the robot. For example, the vacuum cleaner has sensors installed in every room such that it will detect immediately when and where there is dirt, and cleans it up. The washing machine analyses the clothes and determines whether to dry-clean, brush, apply blue or starch after washing, or whether not to wash at all. The water dispenser sends a signal to the water tank whenever its water level gets to a certain point, and then it gets refilled. The dish washer alerts the robots when it’s through with washing so that the robot would pick and stack up the dishes. The pressing iron can perfectly press clothes without human or robotic help. Mhen, you need to be here to see things for yourself.

As for the cooking, it has become extremely simplified to the extent that people no longer need a wife or maid to do the cooking. With the newly invented automated cooking machine called “Speedokooker”, all you need do is mention the name of the food and the machine will list out all the ingredients needed for the food. If you have those ingredients ready, you simply put them in their respective trays in the machine (i.e fish in fish tray, pepper in pepper tray, salt in salt tray, etc). However, if you do not have the needed ingredients complete, the machine will ask you whether to place an order for the ingredients. If you agree, then you’ll just have someone knock on your door, in a matter of few minutes, with the ingredients you ordered for. The money is automatically deducted from your account. When the ingredients are complete, speedokooker would use its super artificial intelligence to do the cooking. It will determine the time to add respective ingredients, and also the exact quantity needed, and in a matter of minutes, your food is ready. Good enough, even the robots can operate speedokooker. This morning, I needed tea and sandwich for breakfast, and my robot used the speedokooker to prepare it and served me right on time. By the way, I named my robot “Bullet” because of its speed.

There, at the dining table, having my breakfast, I was chatting with numerous people- some I don’t even know. Some were commenting on my choice of food for breakfast; some loved it, some didn’t. Mind you, the social network has so much revolved. Very few people still type their comments; most people tell you what they want to via video chat. By now, all the social sites and chat apps have become a conglomerate, such that if you are on one, you are on all, and you need just one username and password to gain access to all of them- just like yesterday’s Google “one account”. The world has become so globalized to the extent that about 98% of people in the world have an online account. All the chat rooms now use live video chats, and a lot of crazy stuffs happen in there. People kiss each other by simply sticking their lips to the screen of their gadget; some prefer chatting naked in return for money, to say the least. The parental guidance of yesterday is no longer there. Kids, even at the age of three, now have full access to the Internet and everything it has to offer.

I would have loved to write a bit on the communication gadgets but time wouldn’t permit me. I want to watch the replay of the world cup semifinal match between Brazil and Nigeria (by the way, every team now consists of a minimum of four robots playing for them).  However, I think you should know that communication is far easier than it was yesterday. Internet service is completely free and available everywhere. I can now answer calls, not only from a mobile device, but also from my TV, refrigerator, cooking machine, wrist watch, smart glasses (it’s a mobile device in the form of eyeglass), some of my clothes, etc. I can also speak with anybody from any part of the world without bothering to know his language. The newly developed communication ear buds would simply translate every speech into the language I can understand- and almost everyone has the ear buds. Life’s really good.

Outside my house are five cars; two are land cars and the other three are flying cars. Don’t be surprised; it’s a new invention. Automobiles are very fantastic nowadays as they no longer use fuel like those of yesterday. Most of them use solar energy, while a few but expensive ones run on water- it was somehow hard for my friend, Victor Emah, to believe that crude oil had lost its relevance. All the flying cars run on water and they are just too sleek and fast. I can get to Alaska, from Nigeria, in less than two hours. Furthermore, these cars are equipped with auto-driver so that one can sleep throughout the journey.

I intend to go to Honk Kong tomorrow, but I’m still contemplating whether to go by my flying car, or board the AirBus transparent airplane. I want to go and embrace my youngest son for graduating as the best in his department- Genetic Engineering. He had informed me recently of a research he was a part of. They were trying to perfect human clones, but I know that will not be possible because they are not God.

Initially, I wanted all my children to study in either in European or American countries, but I changed my mind because of their moral decadence. Gay marriage is just too common. Some people are even agitating that bestiality be legalized. Over there, minors marry, people go about wearing completely transparent synthetic clothes in the name of fashion, and nobody bothers to condemn it. Porn industries and exhibition centers are now more than schools and colleges.

The African countries are relatively better because a good number of people still have their sense of morality and sound judgment. However, things aren’t as they were yesterday. The level of fornication, adultery, and other immoral acts has really escalated. Nigeria, like most African countries, finally succumbed to the pressure to allow gay marriage. Churches are everywhere but people prefer staying back at home even on Sundays. They just watch the preaching online, and thereafter, transfer their tithes and offerings to the church account. By the way, there are no paper money again. Every financial transaction is done digitally.

However, despite degree of change, the Jehovah’s witnesses haven’t changed much. Just as I am writing this, they knocked on my door to share the gospel, but just like yesterday, I told them I wouldn’t have time for their preaching because most of them contradict my belief. They transferred their Awake and Watchtower, and other journals to my tablet, and then left. I noticed that they too, like every other person, do not use the book bible again- rather, they use their tablets.

After they had gone, I returned to my sitting room to watch the semifinal match. The television makes it seem as if I’m in the stadium. The television makes us of holographic projection, thereby displaying everything in 4D. As I watched the television, I kept wondering how such an enormous and remarkable change had occurred between yesterday, Sunday 29th December, 2013 and today, Monday 30th May, 2050- in just about 37years.


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