... Out Of Despair

2050 had always been the future, but 2050 was now.

Many doomsayers had predicted, plague, comets, nuclear war, and global warming and in 2024 many of those looked ever more likely.

However, in the next two years, some strange but effective coups took place worldwide, resulting in far more balanced governments focusing on building their countries and the world up, rather than money and power.

Money was just a means to an end, and banks became far more regulated.

Billionairism was outlawed everywhere as were tax avoidance havens, so every person and company paid taxes.

If someone reached billionaire status the money over the billion was taxed at 100%. There were a few who resented this, but every loophole was closed and they still had more money than they could ever spend in their lifetime.

The money was then used to provide a universal basic income, which eventually eliminated poverty worldwide. There were still those who fell through the net but they could always find food and shelter easily. Most billionaires were pleased when they saw what their taxes were doing. It also made them far more respected and far less despised.

There were still some rich people who were annoyed that they could no longer bully the sick and the poor. They were miserable because the means had been taken away from them to make others miserable.

People still worked, but also many became artists, writers, actors and more because they knew that they had everything they needed, and were not worried about bills and rents.

In 2030 the last Food Bank in the world closed.

Charities stopped collecting because taxes and national insurance covered everything for everyone. The charity organizations kept going in an advisory capacity manned by volunteers, because no one needed any extra money.

Everyone still worked as well for extra income, which meant that people spent more and economies thrived. Trade around the world improved and when companies made very large profits they either rewarded their workers with pay raises or bonuses.

Inflation was minimal because people didn't need any more than they had, and the money allowed them to do what they wanted.

Governments realised the futility and wastefulness of war and arms companies reassessed their markets and started producing goods that helped build rather than destroy. Sometimes explosives were needed in construction, but there were many other ways for them to diversify.

All countries applied the United Kingdom's National Health Service Principals which negated the need for Private Healthcare and Insurance. There were still many other options available for Insurance Workers if they wanted to work.

Healthcare, Education, Arts and Science now thrived. People lived longer and were healthier. Good food was available to all and even the products of fast food outlets came on in leaps and bounds.

There were still misdemeanours and minor crimes, but no one needed to steal, so usually it was vandalism or harassment. Police forces and armies were reduced, and often they were called to help out where there were natural disasters, such as floods or earthquakes.

Global Warming was becoming more controlled because there was a concerted move to renewable energies, wave power, wind power and solar power, although a few nuclear power stations were kept running.

Health improvement meant that people were living longer, and because of the Universal Income stream people could now afford to have families and populations started to increase.

Religions started to die off as people saw that their lives were good and they good do all they wanted. They did not have to pray for help, because help was always available.

Churches were turned into schools and some of the mega churches became indoor sports stadia. Religion could not promise anything better than life on Earth, because life on Earth was close to perfection.

The doomsayers kept saying there wasn't enough room or food, but scientific improvements and discoveries meant that the whole world could be fed, and even now there are many unoccupied hoses and areas where new ones can be built so the doomsayers, as usual, were wrong.

NASA landed men on Mars but discovered no signs of life, but lots of geological information. New efficient methods of propulsion had been developed and there was talk about visiting other planets in the Solar System but Mars and some of Saturn's moons seemed the only options for landing.

Then in 2040, a story leaked that promised something that would really change the world and bring it closer together the way that the internet had done back in the nineties. This was a development between NASA and various European, Russian and Chinese scientific agencies and would revolutionise everybody's lives.

Practical Teleportation had been perfected.

By 2045 it was being used to transport goods across the world, in small and large quantities. Its use was not expensive and so was in everyone's means. The next thing was, that people wanted to know when they could use Teleportation to travel the world.

Testing had to be done, but this would mean an end to, jet lag and long flights or train journeys to meet someone, although airlines and cruise ships would still have a place in this new world.

Now it is 2050 and the future has arrived.

Teleports still require check-ins and cannot yet cope with large volumes of passengers, some people are still worried about the new technology, but all the old options are still there.

So if you want to meet your friends in America, Australia, India, Africa or Europe, they are now only a teleport away to meet for a meal or a coffee.

Last century intercontinental contact was by expensive phone call or letter, thirty years ago we could video call using our various web-connected devices,

The world has become a veritable heaven on earth. Almost everyone is happy and everyone has all that they need for a good, wholesome life.

We have all made this world perfect, and we still wait for another great leap forward to make it even better, maybe the option of everlasting life.