Expectations 2050 : Scenario One
I. HOME
Beep. Beep.
Beep. Beep.
Mike struggled to open his eyes. The alarm clock glared on his bedside.
9.30 AM.
Sunshine tricked in through the blinds, fell on the alarm clock. The alarm clock was gifted to him last Christmas by his ex-boss, in a vain attempt to get him at office early. Mike didn’t thank him gladly by handing his resignation a fortnight later. He liked the clock though. As he dropped his palm on the alarm clock, the blinds gave way; almost blinding Mike. The sun shone brightly and Mike could clearly see the hotel across the street. It was a bright Sunday morning. Mike looked for his flipbox, only to find it below his pillow. He rubbed his eyes as his flipbox read the important mails. It then reminded him to call his mother. Maria Astori was a strict Italian mom, justifying her career as a museum curator. She even named Mike after Michelangelo, the renaissance painter. His girlfriend Jen sent him a barrage of messages and a video clip. He skipped everything and asked to display the clip.
*She is at her home getting ready.
“So we’re finally going to the moon. I’ve been listening to Frank Sinatra since morning.You better come over before 12. We’ll take the loop to the station.”
Mike remembered his promise to take her to the moon tour. A six day long training for space travel is what he dreaded. As he pulled himself out of bed, Mike cursed himself for staying up late working.
The moon tour was all made possible by GoSpace, the technology giant jointly owned by many, including veteran Elon Musk. It received feeble response at first try. The moon landing would cost a lot, even after considering the people who could afford it. The round-the-moon tour was quite successful. It took up lesser time and money, something which humans appreciated. Some call them the pioneers of commercial space tourism. Although it would take some years to break-even, the money flow helped conduct similar explorations on Mars. A habitable red planet would seem possible too soon. The rights to Mars exploration is still under draft as it demanded more co-operation from the nations, than the successful moon exploration agreement.
People always buy dreamy stuff, thought Mike. Jen had been asking him to take her there, ever since her sister went for the tour. Mike had been recently reading about it, GoSpace. The company seemed to cater quite well to their consumers. With its assistance to governments, It seldom finds hindrance in business. Unfortunately for them, there has been an ever going strong debate on the health hazards of space travel, which has almost toppled governments. This has urged GoSpace to train travelers before and after the tours. While the young demands further opportunities, quite a many look at the whole situation with sceptic eyes.
Mike slipped a text to his mother and put aside his flipbox.
II. SHIP
Mike didn’t feel comfortable with the helmet on. It was tight. He looked over to Jen who looked quite jolly, like a 8 year old. Mike always believed human race was destined to move on from Earth. He was ready to adapt. When the developed nations started dumping waste on the underdeveloped ones, Mike was convinced Earth was slowly dying. The population had reached 10.1 billion, exceeding the estimation by 0.4 billion. Colonization of Moon had already started and only the rich could afford it. He didn’t want to be left back on Earth.
Mike stared at the colossal capsule. The gateway was small for being a major part of the space ship. The insides were bright and airy. As speakers were playing David Bowie’s Starman, Mike could see almost 50 odd people wearing the same set of learner suit he was wearing. Mike wasn’t amused, he expected more. When the first marriage in moon took place the previous year, the media went mad. Since then it hasn’t been anything less than a craze, for all couples to visit moon.
*speaker cuts in
“Hello everyone. Welcome to Gospace Crescent 4.
We ask all learners to reach the pod number displayed in their helmet.
All further instructions would be relayed to you individually.”
Mike looked at Jen, signalling her to come close. His pod number was 89 and her 90. It wasn’t far from where they were standing.
“So Spaceman !! Good luck on your mission”, said Jen.
Mike looked into her eyes and says, “May the force be with you.”
