Original Fiction: A life after tomorrow. Part 1

I'd like to present some scenes from a better world, one after the crash (whichever one you're looking forward to), when things have tanked and society is rebuilding itself. It's not a cultural, nor a societal bootstrap from the dark ages, but a recovery where many of the ills of modern culture have been seen to be just that and some of the better things waiting in the wings for their time to shine have been adopted as practical answers to the question of recovery.

It's a mishmash of good ideas that are currently in the works, so you may recognise many of the references and influences. I've set it about two generations from today, in the time of my child's grandchildren.

I hope you enjoy 'A life after tomorrow'.

Chapter 1: A homecoming.

'Grandpa! Grandpa!' The kids shouted when they saw me pull into the parking area. They joyously ran down the stairs, but slowed when the sunlight hit them. In their enthusiasm, neither had put on a hat or sunscreen. Today's sunshine didn't have the bite it used to have, but could still be nasty.

'Look at what I made, Grandpa'! said the youngest, trying to balance on one leg while she showed me a shiny black shoe that was dangling from the other. "We had enough c's so Mum let me download the pattern and print a pair. I like the new ccd, it makes more c's much faster than the old one and it's not always broken like the other one'.

'What did you make? I asked the my grandson, Alex'?

'Nothing since Mum got upset when I made that gun from the redistribution site. I didn't know it was real, I thought it was a toy. Mum has blocked my access for a whole month'!

'But he's swapping for something BIG!' said the girl, Kelly.

'Yeah', mumbled Alex, looking sideways at his sister and sheepishly at his mum. 'I'm making a bike at school with some boys from the engineering class'.

I am proud of my grandson, so far ahead for his age, even with the customised teaching routines he was allowed to access at school.

What a world though! Small, household carbon capture devices take carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into a plastic that's used in 3d printers to make small objects. You just download a pattern from the net - it's all free since eveything went open source. Kids even trade small blocks of it in the schoolyard so they can make bigger and bettter toys, like Alex and his friends..

My daughter-in-law wandered out after the kids, holding their hats. 'Come inside, Dad. When did you get back'?

'Yesterday evening. I took the suborbital and then the shuttle convoy from the station. I hired the car when I got to town. I'm still getting used to cars all being public assets. I could have saved some money and slept in the back if it was my own'.

'How was Masdar, Dad? I still dont know hwy you had to go there to see the desert, the entire south - west is one now'.

'Isn't it hot enough for you here? It hasn't dropped below 28 for three months now'.

'It's different from the constant humidity here. Hotter, maybe, but more comfortable for an old man. Masdar was the first - maybe not the most successful, but I wanted my internship to take me to the roots". I wanted to see how the refugee situation was shaping up too'.

'So, now thats out of your system, can you run for Councillor'?

'Yeah, the prerequisites are done. You know, some places don't require Councillors and Administrators to intern at an eco-city any more. You can get the position just by you reach sixty in some places, as long as your background is good'.

Immortality had drawn the short straw. Sixty is a good run nowadays, what with the overcrowding, malaria has spread to cooler zones thanks to the changing climate and the increase in immigration. Every year there are outbreaks in areas that hadn't heard the word 'epidemic' a generation ago. Various Asian flus and some nasty bugs from South America still raise their heads at the beginning of summer.

'Come in and have a drink and tell us about it, Dad. Three months is a long time to spend away'.

'Was it really hot, Grandpa? Was there lots of sand? One of my friends at schools said that they didn't have any water there. What do they drink'?

'Sand as far as my eye could see. The good eye, that is. Turns out that the new one I got before I left didn't work so well in the glare. I got a raplacement in Bangkok, covered by the warranty. Health insurance wouldn't pay on the frst one, so I didn't try on the second. I'm still a dinosaur, I know. Insurance'!

'Did you see Uncle Liu'?

'No, but I could see where he'd been. There's water extraction plants everywhere, salt water purification, dehmidifiers on every roof, rain capture devices. The land around is growing green slowly, thanks to Liu's company's projects, and there's even a stream running near where I lived'.

'I bought both of you a gift...' I said as I got two small spheres from my pocket.

'That's sand from the desert. It was melted in an explosion during the difficulties before you were born. The locals collect it, polish it and sell it to suckers like me'.

'Talking about 'difficulties' my daughter asked "were there any troubles on the way back'?

'A protest in Bangkok held up the suborbital for about an hour. They are still protesting the intake of all those poor people from Bangladesh and India a decade ago. We skipped over a super cell near the Philippines. That was scary, but beautiful at our height, a big pinwheel taking up most of the sky below us. They're in for their annual storm, it's always tough for them this time of year'.

I had an idea to change the conversation before it focused on troubles. Being a single mum, my daughter still had some difficulties keeping the household running - society still valued life partnerships. Even with the Wage and free education, raising two kids still took its financial toll.

'Lets go to the park, kids. I've been itching to walk on some soft green grass.'

The kids lead the way down the stairs and onto the street, past the construction site where bamboo scaffolding was supporting the new walls as they were extruded from the big Chinese building printer. They were already three floors done, in just three days. This buiding kept to a standard box style construction, a Council mandate as it was going to be more than six stories high. We paused a while while I watched them mould the drainage outlets into the walls.

We stopped at a billboard for some water and a breeze. The humidity was tiring me out. At the edge of the park we picked a lunch of diferent fruits and ate them under one of the big kinetic sculptures, its moving wings giving us shade while generating power for the park. After so long on sand and the tough, hard grass that had been used in the desert, my toes relished every step on the soft, well watered lawn of the park. With ever step the ground felt more alive.

The kids ran to the lake and I laid out on the soft turf and rolled back and forward like a madman for a while, relishing the coolness. Looking up I saw some of the locals laughing at me, I laughed back and waved.

By the lake was a small gathering that the kids naturally gravitated towards, their eyes caught by the display of the nano-skin printers logo. Kids loved these things, so I wandered over to make sure they made good choices, otherwise their mother would skin me alive.

Already, Kelly had two pictures pulled up on the display. Luckily they were pure girl stuff, fairies and a pony.

'I know you've seen fairies before, but have you ever seen a pony?' I asked Kelly.

'We've got fairies in our stream, Grandpa. You've never been there at night when Mum puts the ceiling display on for us. They live in the memory stack and dance for me while I fall asleep. One flies down to my pillow and talks to me in NeoChin while I am asleep too!'

'But what about the pony'?

'You know they all died, Grandpa! Don't be mean!'

I rapidly apologised in NeoChin. I assume ponies were in the genes of all little girls, even those of my generation. Girls just love ponies and that's all there is to it.

'Can I get them'? Kelly asked with that pleading look that only kids and small puppies can give.

'OK, but only on your arms' I said as sternly as any Grandfather can when faced with a pleading grandchild.

She skipped over to the Painter and slid both arms inside. I winked my OK to the attendent and there was a brief flash of pink light.

Kelly jumped at the light, then pulled her arms out with a look of wonder and amazement as two fairies chased each other up and down and around her arms, waving wands and fluttering wings. It was beautiful. On the other arm, a blue pony galloped and cavorted, obviously having fun.

'I want to keep them forever Grandpa!' she sighed. We all knew that the nanobots in the ink would only last a week before fading away to a still picture, then disappearing entirely, passed out through the body's usual system of elimination. While they were active though, the 'bots did double duty, giving the young girl a thorough medical checkup and uploading the data to the her stream. No visits to the doctor for these kids, the next game she played would download the remedies for whatever ailed her.

I turned to check on Alex who was scanning the pictures of was looking at images of muscles and claws. boys will be boys.

End of chapter 1

I hope you enjoyed the read, brief as it was. I'd like to get your feedback too...it's a work in progress.