In
the year 2102...
By 2102 Artificial
Intelligence will have been achieved, the world's libraries will be contained
in your Palm, and most major diseases will have been cured so there will
be no need for cloning. Nanobots will roam our bloodstreams making
any repairs as needed, so the major killer heart disease will be virtually
eliminated by early detection and prevention. The same with most
other medical problems.
Because of these advances in both computer tech and medical science, by
2102 the average life span will have increased to 120 to 150 years.
Most people will not die from old age, but rather accidents related to
the ubiquitous flying cars. Driving will not have improved!
By 2102 the constitution will not have been amended yet, because
the political parties will still be grid-locked. Although everyone
would like to amend it, nobody can agree on exactly how.
By 2102 world population will have peaked and the declining and aging
population will be one of the largest economic issues as a greater percentage
of the population retires rather than works. However, fears of economic
collapse will be misplaced because productivity gaps will be filled by
the growing number of androids entering the work force.
By 2102 there will be a large entertainment and tourism industry
in space hotels orbiting the planet, as technology related to carbon nanotubes
made it possible to install space elevators thus providing inexpensive
access to near earth orbit. Sex in space will be the rage, and a
human partner will be optional. Just like the internet today, in
2102 there will be a huge underground market in "space porn".
By 2102 a philosophy professor will actually have discovered the meaning
to life, but his or her discovery will be suppressed by the government
because officials feel that the population at large needs something else
to occupy their time when they are not vacationing in space hotels!
By 2102 alien life will be discovered, but sadly no alien technology,
as this life consists only of schools of sightless fish swimming in the
oceans under the ice of Europa!
By 2102 most of the world's religions will be supplanted by the "one
true religion" centered around the alien fish of Europa. Although
they don't worship the fish itself, it is said that eating the Europan
fish gives one a psychedelic spiritual experience such that the eater
declares "there must be a God!" Incidentally, the
practice of eating Europan sushi just before having sex in your space
hotel room has caused many to nearly discover the meaning of life.
Officials are considering on how they might place a ban on this, but as
so many of the ruling class are engaged in the practice themselves, the
ban seems unlikely.
By 2102 the author
Douglas Adams will be cloned from samples of his DNA and an artificial
intelligence brain will be supplied for him to write just one more sequel
to his ever popular Hitchhikers Guide series!
We can only hope.
|
