2080: A futurama : V4.0

[I would suggestyou to read earlier posts of this series first to know more about the context and glosaary before reading this post]

When I was on my way back from the museum, it was begining to get dark. I hurried as I am to go shopping for some decent clothes (by Niharika’s standards) in the night. The shops are open all night, and I am not the one to miss a chance to see the nightlife of 2080.

Hey, by the way, did I tell you about the cities of 2080? I guess not. Let me tell you about it while I walk (I don’t have an ID and so no liscence to drive ) home. Niharika lives in a city called Bengalooru(yes you guessed right, the same city I lived in 2008). The city has changed a lot and for better I guess. There is greenery all around and the air is so fresh. I think now we can call Bengalooru truly as the ‘Garden City’.

The city has grown tremendously in the vertical direction, all the buildings being more than 100 floor high. Begining in the year 2047, all the land was notified and taken by the government in a phased manner and constructions began for a vertical Bengalooru. The constructions were completed by 2055, by the time IDs came into existance. Since there was no need for office structures, all the offices were also converted to residential buildings. The names of the localitites were retained for old times sake.

I was amazed to be in a jungle of concrete and still being able to see sunlight and all these greenery. I learnt later that the construction is such that each and every square inch of the ground has atleast 3 hours of sunlight daily. This was achieved through ergonomic designs and use of mirrors where it was impossible to have sunlight. So even when you are at the groundlevel, you will be able to see the daylight in the noon.

The vehicles driven on the roads were also not very different from today, maybe more flashier and beautiful but still the same cars. There were very few bikes though. I thought maybe the doomsday analysis about the end of all the petroleum reserves in 2050 were wrong.

But as always, I was wrong, all the crude oil well on the planet was exhausted in 2035, 15 years before the projected deadlines. These cars were run on air; they suck in the air from the front using a battery operated device and ionify the moisture content in it to hydrogen and oxygen. This hydrogen is then used in an engine based on the hydrogen fuel cell principles. The reduce is then mixed with water contained in the car so as to keep up the moisture levels and ejected through the exhaust. The technology has come up as an alternative to the exhausted fossil fuels and the advent of air fuelled cars have reduced the pollution to almost negligible levels.

Due to this cheap technology, and the unlimited amount of free fuel also had increased the number of cars on the road. This created trafic nightmares in the early 50’s. The government of the day had done much to rectify the situation. The roads were widened and the sewage system revamped. All the major roads are 14 laned and the minor ones 8 aned. However due to the increasing population and the increased affordability of the cars the situation worsened everyday. Much is being done still and much more needs to be done. But apart from the traffic situation everything was cool. BTW I was surprised to know that the bikes were for the rich only as they used the much expensive neuclear powered engines.

Anyways, I have reached my house, in the erst while Koramangala locality. I am waiting for Niharika to come from her ‘office’ so that I can enjoy my first night out.