A lot can happen in a decade as we have seen over
the last ten years so imagine how the human race
is doing in five decades. Mankind's current
consumer society puts pressure on both the people
and the planet to maintain the status quo. Out of
the infinite options of what the future holds in
2075, we like to think that science and AI would
find that a coming together is needed. That is,
people taking up less space but doing so in a way
that creates sustainable cities that rise up
instead of out. Between fusion, hydrogen, solar,
wind, and wave power, fossil fuels should be
phased out by that point with only clean energy
used going forward. Leaders of governments would
eventually see the wisdom of self-contained, self
powered buildings that are cities within
themselves. Temperature controlled environments
housing thousands in ways that are less harmful to
the planet. It was the causes for the
environmental issues that supplied the answers on
how to fix everything. For example, in the old
days, a hundred and fifty thousand air
conditioners running day and night in just one
city alone were only making the problem worse. The
planet responded with easily predictable results.
Everything pointed toward bringing people together
in ways where they could live with a far better
quality of life.
It all started in Seattle in the 2030s.
Eighty-five miles of land was home to a million
people. A new city was built but far enough away
from the ocean for it to no longer be a problem.
They were building for the future and mankind was
on board. Food was grown or raised either
hydroponically or on the land that used to be the
city. People were done with major events that
could wipe out large sections of even the largest
city. Now they just wanted the safety of being
together in buildings that could withstand
anything. So the exodus began along with the
greatest construction boom in history. Man-hours
were volunteered to make the dream come alive with
the advanced robotics that made the construction
of the buildings fast and efficient. Teams of
engineers and architects came up with ingenious
designs that were tested in scale replicas for the
worst that nature could throw at them. Each
building was aesthetically designed to be eye
pleasing and functional. If humanity was to
survive, it was going to be through understanding
and cooperation.
The Keller's were one such family who made the
transition four years ago. Their two children
attended school on the second floor while dad
worked from home. Mrs. Keller enjoyed working in
the hydroponics area being part of the team that
produced the food. At first the transition took
some getting used to but not as much is expected.
Antigravity having been perfected decades ago, any
floor on their seventy-five story city was
accessible as if it was on the ground floor.
Shopping was a joy as it was only a few floors
down and took up the fourth through the sixth
floors as well as other areas to shop higher up in
the structure. Restaurants also could be found
throughout the city and were often grouped
together by the ethnicity of the menu. The
Keller's favorite places to eat were on the 36th
floor that featured only sushi restaurants. While
they had access to other nearby cities, they often
found all they needed just where they lived. If
anything, they found friendships easier to make,
work more convenient, and cultural events they
could enjoy as a family. In their opinion, the
cities had fulfilled all the promises made during
their presentation to the public just in the lives
saved on a yearly basis.
The cities were at first considered idealistic but
became a necessary option when humanity found few
easy choices in a changing world with
unpredictable climate events. Another option that
had been offered was to go underground in cities
that extended thousands of feet into the earth.
The exact opposite was then proposed where those
same cities would extend into the sky but now they
had windows. Prototypes of both were built with
volunteers from around the globe ready to test
them out for which would offer the best chance for
lifestyles for the people of the world. The city
towers were chosen as the easiest for the
transition as underground life caused stresses on
the inhabitants. Rural life was still enjoyed by
millions but the bulk of humanity chose a more
predictable life without the unknowns that could
wipe out generations of hard work. The best part
of the transition was that humans could take
advantage of the new hologram technology that
included holo suites where the holograms had
physical substance. They could also travel to
different city towers and national parks or
beaches and mountain areas for skiing. The earth
was being reborn as were civilizations across the
globe into a new era of necessary cooperation and
balance.
