2032: A Grave New World

Day: Saturday



Date: December 11, 2032


Time: 08:08:08 Hours


Place: Mathura, New Delhi

Youre woken up by sounds of birds chirping, leaves swinging, waves gushing

and ladies singing. You stretch and look forward to the day and to the party

that youre eager to attend tonight in honor of Dataquests fiftieth

anniversary.

As you head to the bathroom, your kitchen server comes to life and begins

preparing your usual cup of hot tea with a spot of milk and no sugar. In the

bathroom, you brush your teeth with an electronic toothbrush that checks for

cavities and for early signs of periodontal disease, removes plaque with

nanoscopic precision, and cleans and whitens your teeth.

Meanwhile, your smart WC will have automatically run a battery of tests on

you, including checking your blood pressure, heart rate, etc.

When youre back in your kitchen, the tea is perking hot. The computer knows

you like to read your favorite newspaper, the Daily eQuest. As you scan the

headlines on your kitchen wall, the phone rings. Ms Tina on the line, sir. Do

you want to take the call, sir?

Yes. Ill take it at my desk. Your heart flutters. Tina is your fiance.

You touch a softpanel on your desk and Tinas pretty face floats in 3D three

inches away from you.

Raju Chellam High-tech is now trying to un-do what man has destroyed in nature. More importantly, high-tech is very much a part of your life

I have two pieces of good news, darling, Tina says. Ill be coming to

Delhi early. Ill be in Delhi by 2 pm today. Were taking an earlier jetcar from

Singapore. Ill meet you at Mathura jetcar station! Isnt that lovely?

Your primal instincts sound an alarm. We?

Yes! Tina smiles. Thats the second good news! My mom is coming with me

for the weekend!

Oh my God! You try not to frown as Tina can see your minutest expressions.

I mean, oh my God, isnt that a great piece of news!

I knew youd be thrilled! Tina says with a broad smile.

You glance at the virtual clock thats floating on a wall. It shows 09:09:09.

You need to hire a robot maid for two hours before you rush to Mathura Jetcar

Station at 13:30.

You smile at the thought of being with Tina again. You are one of 1,000 SEOs

(Scenario Enhancement Officers) at Datagames, one of the largest virtual reality

gaming companies in the world and part of the global Dataquest Corporation. You

met Tina at a bionic conference for human clones. You found out that like you,

she was also cloned from a single cell of a single mother some twenty years ago.

Tina works with the Global Organism Deployment (GOD) office, a world body like

the UN, tasked with using stored DNA and high-tech to recreate natural resources

that man has ravaged through the ages.

High-tech is now trying to un-do what man has destroyed in nature. More

importantly, high-tech is very much a part of your life:

• The sounds of birds chirping, leaves swinging, waves gushing and ladies
  
  singing that woke you up today came from your homes Chip (Central Host
  
  Information Processor).
• The rays of the December sun came from giant Oleds (Organic light emitting
  
  diodes) stuck to your flats walls that replicate natural windows, but run on
  
  WOS.
• There are no real windows in your flat, which is three storeys below sea
  
  level. At sea level, there are only transportation systems and commercial
  
  transport and logistics hubs.
• The world runs on high-tech. High-tech gives your life meaning. It offers
  
  you beauty and provides you big slices of ecstasy. It is now embedded in you.
  
  It is your soul. It is you.