A Ride Through the Future

Imagine entering a car similar to the one shown above. It is advertised as an experience similar to a taxi, except there is no driver. As you enter, a voice asks for your destination. You ask if the car can take you around town and it replies, “of course.”

You see a holographic screen that appears to contain an interactive map. You start to play with its functions but opt instead to look out the windows.

Moments later, you pass a medical complex of multiple buildings, extensive greenery, greenhouse, walking trails, and a drone landing pad. The car seamlessly changes direction and the window formerly shading the sun’s effects clears into transparent glass while the window now facing the sun darkens.

“Turn down the temperature by five degrees, please,” you ask aloud as you change seats for a better view.

“Acknowledged.” The voice replies as the car enters a downtown area. You aren’t slowed by pedestrian traffic or intersections as you’re used to. After passing through a bridge/tunnel structure, you make a note to revisit this area, stopping close by to walk to an interesting clothing store.

On the right, a series of factories covered in solar panels display simple names like, “furniture 2,” “battery 1,” and “sanitation 5”. Some larger, simpler vehicles veer off in that direction while your vehicle continues straight. There must be around 100 small factories, all providing the town with essential and non-essential products.

A large park appears ahead where people can be seen playing and exercising. In the middle is a small hut marked with a red cross that appears to be a sort of self-service medical tent. While much of the city is shaded with hints of light shining through, the park is covered in an apparently inflatable see-thru bubble. Since the invention of UV filters, people are seen sunbathing without fear of skin cancer. A group of kids, probably a physical education class, is seen doing soccer drills.

As you emerge from the industrial center, you start to see houses. They vary greatly in design but are all covered in a sort of solar panel and boast at least one tree. This became a mandate in the Air Quality Scare of 2030.

Exiting the residential area, the car picks up speed and you fly through a vast area of agriculture research fields. It looks like one greenhouse-looking pod is growing wheat. Another field seems to be testing wind turbine efficiency.

On the left is a landfill, covered in a similar dome to the park. You can see trees inside the dome, apparently filters that could reduce the greenhouse gases escaping. A large fan on one side seems to be slowly taking air into the dome while the fan on the other side is pulling air out.

After a minute or two, the vehicle slows down and an electronic voice announces, “approaching starting point. Where would you like to go next?”

“Wow, that was too fast; I don’t feel like I saw everything! Repeat tour, please,” you say as you put your fingers to the interactive holographic map. You pull your two fingers apart, zooming in on an area of the town that looks interesting.

About half a mile from the medical facility sprawls an education center. You see people walking between buildings, toting backpacks and satchels. An electronic sign hoisted high in the air reads, “NEED GUIDANCE IN LIFE? CAREER ADVICE? JOIN US AT 6:00 FOR CONFERENCE BY SMILINGINOVATOR!” It switched to another advertisement that you only caught part of: “SEE ALL LIVE AND ARCHIVED INFORMATION AT…”

Surrounded by buildings, the downtown center seems to scream creativity and innovation. Buildings are uniquely designed and use odd methods of communicating their services or products. One building used Christmas lights inside each window throughout about 20 floors to draw an image of their product. Areas of the city clearly used for research appear approachable yet private to the researchers. Off in the distance, you see a rocket launch. Since the improvements made in the early 21st century, you barely hear or see the rocket as it rapidly disappears into the sky.

Moving on to the residential area, you observe one house changing color as people watch, apparently amused. Kids are playing in their yards with toys you can’t quite make out from your distance. Inside a screened-in porch, you observe one person lazily pedaling a stationary bike, probably generating electricity as a small source of income. Now that necessities are provided for all citizens of a city, income is rarely considered, but can come in handy if you are in the market for something special!

Jerking from your thoughts, you ask, “How far to the Stratston hotel?”

“3 minutes. Would you like to end your tour?”

“Yes, go to my hotel.”

“Certainly!”

As the car redirects, you observe a revamped grocery store, massive in size due to the lack of a parking lot. Loading docks are elevated for the railcar use and you can see a few large vehicles parked there.

Moments later, the car slows to a stop and the door opens. A rush of cool air hits you as you exit. You barely hear each car zoom by as you make your way to your room, contemplating ordering a pizza for dinner!

Please read my other posts to continue to learn about my dream for the world. Thank you for reading this one!