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The Story of My Descendant: 2025
by Carl Isaak

Summary: This essay is a fictional account of the life of one of the author's descendants, his nephew Tyler. It features a short series of correspondence between the author and his nephew, purported to be occurring in the year 2025. The essay also includes a "day-in-the-life" story written by "Tyler". While much of this paper's the result of creative speculation by the author, some of the hypothetical events are drawn from the works of prominent futurists, including Ian Pearson, Malcom Wells, and Marvin Cetron. A full bibliography is available at the end of the text.

Dear Uncle Carl,

Thanks so much for writing back to me; I know you're very busy with your work at the United Nations, especially now with the pressure that you must be dealing with, helping to finally create an autonomous Palestinian state.

I hope your wife and the twins are finding it easy to adjust to your new home in Jenin. Give them hugs and kisses from me.

Anyway, down to business. As I wrote in my earlier letter, my job at Microsoft involves quite a bit of training and learning new skills. I never would've thought that after five years of working with one company that almost half my time would still be spent learning. ¹ I'm currently finishing up a class called "Anticipating and Exploiting Future Market Conditions," which is designed to increase our awareness of how we can predict change and actively alter or take advantage of the future to suit our own needs. I guess Microsoft and the other major multinational corporations don't want employees to possess only highly specified static skills. My instructors are constantly stressing the dynamic and fluctuating nature of the technology industry, and the necessity for employees to be able to anticipate and adapt quickly to new systems and information paradigms.

One of my final assignments is to write an autobiographical paper that emphasizes how the world now has changed in comparison to the world inhabited by an older relative when they were my current age. What I'm asking you to do is to help me point out some aspects of my life that you feel are major departures from what it was like when you were eighteen, in 2002. After I write this paper I have to compose a fictitious account of what the world will be like for one of my descendants, twenty years down the road. The process of writing the first paper is supposed to stimulate my ability to identify currents of change over time, and extrapolate from my present state where those trends might go in the future.

I would appreciate it if you would send a few thoughts about how the world has changed since you were my age. Again, it was really good to hear from you; maybe I'll be able to come visit you guys on my four-day weekend in May.

I hear sky-shuttle passes are fairly cheap this season.

Sincerely,
Tyler

Dear Tyler,

I'd be happy to do what I can to help you with your assignment. I would suggest that I could give you a few insights with what to write about how the world has changed on a wider scale, and you might want to add something more individualized to describe your own experience. That way you could give the paper a broader context, commenting not only on your personal life, but also about the condition of the world at large. So included below are few things that I feel would be pertinent to your essay.

A major change that has occurred from 2002 to 2025 has been the shift away from dependence on fossil fuels. ¹ The sudden depletion of non-renewable resources like coal and oil, combined with the disastrous results of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, forced many nations to invest heavily in research for alternative energy sources. This on-going research has caused spectacular change in industries like transportation, with the widespread adoption of solely hydrogen powered cars, ⁵ and the corresponding ban of internal combustion engines in Canada, the U.S., and most Western European states in 2018. Some political ramifications and spin-off's of this technological change has been: the formerly American-dominated Middle East oil-producing countries now are experiencing both financial hardship and increased political solidarity amongst themselves. With the notable exception of Israel, the Middle Eastern states appear to be unifying under their common heritage as Arabs.

This political unification is, of course, very familiar to you Tyler. In your lifetime you've witnessed the European Union's economic ties develop into the creation of a united European state, and a similar merging process in North America, ⁷ where Canada and the United States are making plans to formalize their already integrated political system. ⁷ These moves towards globalization are not as pronounced in less developed countries, but most still show signs of following the trend of coalescence, ⁹ such as the African and South American adoption of a single currency for their respective continents, and the Asian Economic Union's attempts to create an integrated Asian economy.

Another area you may want to focus on is the space industry. The missions to the moons of Jupiter last year, ^{Winglee 13} as well as the second manned mission to Mars next month are great examples of just how rapidly this technology has been advancing. The commercial space-travel industry is on the brink of a financial boom, with high demand for trips to the International Moon Station as well as just vacations into orbit. Flights once only offered from the Russian Space Agency for tens of millions of dollars are now being made available by private shuttle companies like Boeing and Lockheed-Martin for under a million dollars. This is partly due to a reduction in the cost of fuel for spacecraft (which now use even more potent hydrogen fuel) and also the ability of lighter-fuel spacecraft to accommodate more passengers.

The advances in robotics have also been staggering. Today's robots, in addition to doing the menial tasks once performed by unskilled laborers, ⁵ are considered vital contributing participants in such diverse environments as hospitals, factories, universities, offices, and banking institutions. ² The level of artificial intelligence attained is not quite at human levels, but is approaching those levels at an unprecedented pace. Machines already are in charge of making complicated decisions for the government and military; it's only a matter of time before these types of robots are also helping direct the economy and aspects of private life. Despite fears that robotic technology would displace their human counterpart workers and cause massive unemployment, that has not yet been the case, with the employment rate actually increasing, albeit in areas that require highly skilled personnel. The mass-production of household robotic technology has made it possible for many consumers to purchase machines that take care of domestic tasks like preparing food and cleaning, allowing parents to have more leisure time, or to spend time with their children. In fact, the amount of newly available leisure time has been a dominant factor in the recent recreational activity and entertainment industry boom.

One thing to keep in mind when you write this essay is that not all of the progress in technology and medicine has been distributed evenly around the world. There is still a large measure of economic disparity between society in the post-industrial West verses the industrializing countries of Africa, Asia, and South America. While the AIDS virus was pronounced curable by doctors at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine two years ago, there are still people who are dying of the disease in the world simply because the medicine needed to cure people is being given to wealthy countries very disproportionately.

More personally, Tyler, I know that biotechnology has impacted both of our lives in a very significant way. The Human Genome Project, completed in 2008 made it possible to unravel hereditary genetic disorders like Alzheimer's and Huntington's Disease which have devastated families like ours for centuries.¹ Despite your acquisition of Huntington's at birth, scientists were able to identify the damaged genes in your DNA and correct them accordingly. Similarly, other diseases once thought incurable (e.g. AIDS, cancer) have been remedied by biotechnology and reputable scientists are seriously proposing that practical immortality could be possible.⁴ Progress in biotechnology has also come to help economically disadvantaged countries cultivate previously barren regions with genetically enhanced crops that thrive despite hostile conditions.⁵ The famine foreseen to happen in India in the 2010's because of their population boom was partially averted by predicting the problem and utilizing these modified crops in large desolate sections of Australia. Biotechnology's impact unfortunately has not been solely benign, as you well know. Unethical scientists around the world continue their attempts to successfully clone their wealthy clients, despite a nearly worldwide consensus on the ban of human cloning.³ The results of their careless experimentation are tens of thousands of deformed human beings that are disposed of upon discovery of their defects.

I hope these suggestions give you a few ideas of what to include in your paper. Good luck! If you don't mind, I'd like to read the part of the paper that deals with the personal aspect of your biography. Send it to me when you can.

Sincerely,
Carl

Dear Uncle Carl,

Thanks for the input. I will definitely include some of your ideas in my paper. Here's the first part of my autobiography you requested. I decided to write it in a "day-in-the-life" format, to give it a contrast to the next paper I will write about my own descendant, written in the same style.

Enjoy!

"A Morning in the Life of Tyler Bargen"

"It's time to wake up sir," proclaims my robo-butler, provoking an angry yawn and a bout of tired stretching from my exhausted frame. "You've only got one hour and thirteen minutes before you have to be at work."

I wryly contemplate ignoring the advice of Jeeves, the butler, and spending the day within the confines of my spacious underground home located in Vancouver.⁸ Foregoing this temptation, I wearily arise from my sleeping chamber, dress myself with the clothes laid out by Jeeves, stumble into the adjoining kitchen and sit at the counter.

"Set windows to "Himalayas at sunrise," I command, watching as the artificial windows in my apartment thirty floors below ground instantly transform my surroundings from "Paris at night" into a breathing mountain landscape.⁵ "Holo-vision on, news channel please." I hear the hum of the holographic projector as it responds to my voice command.⁵ Within seconds the holo-vision has connected to the satellite feed that now is supplying full sized, life-like images of the newscasters as they broadcast from their studio in Atlanta. Currently the big news is the government's crackdown on cyber-terrorism, with the Federal Internet-Security Agency attempting to curb the latest Internet "turf" war between organized cyber-criminals vying for territory.⁵ As reporters discuss the latest raid on a hacker warehouse in London, I sip the coffee prepared for me by Jeeves and watch the news ticker as it runs through the headlines. "Mission to Mars proceeds as planned: scheduled for April 12; Mattel Toy Company recalling all 2021 model Robo-Pet Rottweilers due to faulty aggression inhibitor: 32 fatalities reported so far; Elections in the Pacific Northwest District today are expected to produce many tight races for seats at the North American General Assembly.^"7

Just realizing that today was election day, I ask Jeeves to fetch me my Multi-Purpose Communication device. Approximately the size of an old-fashioned envelope and less than a centimeter thick with a computer-like interface, the MPC allows me to, among other things: holo-conference with other users, connect and interact with the internet, purchase goods online and at the retail super malls, and most importantly, vote on elections and referendums. Jeeves returns shortly with my MPC, and I proceed to logon to the MPC using the retinal scanner, which protects against MPC financial fraud and helps to assure that all registered voters can vote only once.

Candidates this year are from parties as diverse as the anti-technology Earth Party ⁵ to the pro-genetic engineering Scientific Progress Party, with a smattering of throwback parties like the Conservatives and Social Democrats that still cling to the ideologically based political divisions, rather than basing their party platform on utilitarian principles like most other modern parties. Having watched the holo-vision debates early on in the campaign and deciding whom I would vote for then, I quickly find the candidate on the holo-screen projecting from the MPC and follow the simple instructions to completing the "ballot." Finishing this activity, I resume eating my breakfast and tell Jeeves to gather the things I need to bring to work and send them up the loading elevator to my dual-mode car,⁶ which will take me to work at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond.

"Turn off the lights and shut down the artificial windows while I'm gone, Jeeves," I command as I hurriedly walk out the door to the high-speed elevator. Riding the elevator, I glance at my watch and see that I only have half an hour to commute from Vancouver to Redmond, a trip of over 200 kilometers. "Thank goodness for the dual mode guideway," I think to myself.

Exiting the elevator and rushing to my car, I open the doors with my remote entry key and hop in, activating the car's hydrogen fuel cell with the push of a button.⁵ Navigating my way out of the lot, I quickly find the nearest guideway entry, punch in the number for the Redmond guideway exit, and wait for my vehicle to be automatically scanned to test for guideway compatibility.⁶

After the computer verifies my car's safety, I am able to sit back and relax while the dual mode car accelerates to meet the high speeds of the guideway. With scenery zipping by at blistering speed, I decide to take the opportunity of this free time to check my health monitor. Plugging in my MPC's cord to a small metal outlet embedded behind my ear, I am able to access and view my vital statistics as they are being constantly monitored by the miniscule health device that was implanted last year.⁵ My blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels all are within healthy levels, but the cold I caught while cycling on the long weekend is still lingering, so I'm receiving automated medicines for it via my health device, which is authorized to administer certain low impact medicines.¹ Sending the updated health statistics to my doctor daily through my MPC, I feel confident that any health concerns I may have, even in the future, will be detected and addressed before they become serious problems. Unplugging the MPC from the health monitor, I decide to lay back and enjoy the view of "downtown" Seattle, which is now free of the massive high-rise buildings that used to congest the area. ⁸ Exiting the guideway at the Redmond exit, I smoothly resume control over the vehicle and drive into the Microsoft parking lot, ready to commence another day at work. n

Works Cited  

1. Cetron, Marvin J., and Owen Davies. Trends Now Changing the World: Technology, the Workplace, Management, and Institutions. The Futurist Mar/Apr (2001: 27-42
2. Fresco, Jacque, and Roxanne Meadows. Engineering a New Vision of Tomorrow. The Futurist Jan/Feb (2002: 33-36
3. Fukuyama, Francis. Gene Regime. Foreign Policy. Mar/Apr (2002 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_marapr_2002/fukuyama.htm
4. Louria, Donald B. Second Thoughts: On Extending Life-Spans. The Futurist Jan/Feb (2002: 44-48
5. Pearson, Ian D. The Next 20 Years in Technology: Timeline and Commentary. The Futurist Jan/Feb (2000: 14-19
6. Reynolds, Francis D. The Transportation System of the Future. The Futurist Sep/Oct (2001: 44-50
7. Segal, Hugh. New North American Institutions: The Need for Creative Statecraft. Institute For Research on Public Policy (speech Institute For Research on Public Policy (2002
8. Wells, Malcolm. An Underground Utopia. The Futurist Mar/Apr (2002: 33;36
9. Zey, Michael G. Manis Evolutionary Path into the Universe. The Futurist May/June (2001): 28-33

About the Author
Born in 1984, Carl Isaak is a first-year student at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He is planning to major in the humanities and then pursue a career in law, business, education, or international organizations. He wrote this essay as a class assignment for Professor Lynn Burton.

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