It’s 2050, 18 years after the third civil war ended, it was the worst war America ever had. There wasn’t a state that wasn’t hit. Homes and high-rises were destroyed, some towns were flooded and many power plants were down from missile strikes, it was horrible. Over one hundred million killed and hundreds of millions more were injured. We fought hard for our freedom, and this gave people from all countries the power to fight for theirs as well. Most countries won by their people, and the ones that weren’t were helped by their neighbors to victory. With all the battles, over three billion died and 228 of 237 countries were victorious in their battles. The countries that lost surrendered, and the innocent people who were just caught up in their leaders’ atrocities were given the land. The leaders were either imprisoned or, if resisted, killed for crimes against humanity.
When rebuilding America, our ancestors decided to go in a positive direction. The people of the world worked together on projects instead of worrying about others infringing on them. The Federation of Earth, which is a homage to Gene Roddenbery and Star Trek, was born. Universally, we decided to stop using currency, so people were open to doing what they wanted and many helped rebuild.
AI and robots were developed in 2041. They did the most difficult lifting, but still humans decided to help; the jobs that couldn’t be done by AI or robots were still done by humans. No AI didn’t try and control us, and robots didn’t try and enslave us; instead, we found mutual respect and became friends. We gave them the same respect and freedom as humans, and everything’s great. Together we’ve produced new technologies to make body parts and nerves so people who couldn’t’ walk now can, developed eyes, so the blind could see; and ears, so the deaf could hear. Hearts, lungs, and livers were also made. The greatest technology, though, was the human brain. Now we have immortality, which is good because men and women became sterile from the coal that was mined, oil that was drilled, and microplastics from the plastic that was used to make many things. People who decided not to get robotic parts because they wanted to die normally, their choice was respected.
In 2044, the World Federation Space Agency was started. We’ll have space stations that will house millions of people, and others will be made for scientific and engineering research. With the help of our robot friends, we’ll get them done by 2058. We’re also building spacecraft so we can travel the stars and see what fascinating things are out there.
Since money doesn’t rule our lives, people are happy to help their neighbors rebuild houses, office buildings and other structures. Robots help build bigger structures, like safer power plants, vehicle plants, etc.
We’re still rebuilding, but everything is coming out nicely. We have artists who paint beautiful murals of peace and love on buildings; we have people playing music to make the day go faster; and we have writers like me to document what has happened. Me and a few selected writers were hired to record our history to be sent into space by rocket, similar to what our ancestors did with Voyager. Our story, music and art will be traveling through the galaxy in case other species are out there.
I was born during the war, so I got to see a lot of this happening firsthand. It’s a beautiful sight watching people come together to help one another. Now we’re one race with different ethnicities and different sexes, there still may be hierarchical differences, but there is mutual respect between us all. We all help one another when we can. We also decided to keep traditions like the Olympics, which will start in 2060, to give us enough time to repair what was damaged. Furthermore, we also have elections, so everyone gets a say on the way our new world should grow, as well as festivals for diverse cultures, beliefs and genders. Everyone should be able to be who they are and believe what’s in their hearts. Our ancestors finally learned from past mistakes, and we’re all grateful for that.
Right now, in 2050 things are good, people are happy, this isn’t the reboot we wanted but the one we needed. So many people died for, land, money, stuff in the ground and in mines, it’s sad. The kids born after the war will only know peace. All of the books and movies that show us being destroyed AI or technology of some kind that seemed to be used as predictions of their future never happened. Hopefully in the future we’ll all travel the stars together, human and robots. You may be thinking “then why are you teaching students the history of the human race. The answer to that is humans may be wired to fight; we have people who have arguments and luckily none of them turned into blows. We teach history as a warning of what could happen if peace is broken, at least that’s what the leaders came up with. Are we doing the right thing, maybe showing them, our people’s past is something that will trip the switch of violence. We also teach them because they deserve to know, before the leaders decided to teach people our history, people asked questions. That is a better and simpler answer.
This is the best of humans; this is what we should have been all along. Our ancestors lived in such chaos, fear and hate. I wonder what they would say if they could see us now. Would that change their perspective and peace would come earlier?
What’s next in our future? Only time will tell, but I think it’s going to be fantastic.
Ok, Joanne Miller wrote this a couple of days ago and I’m reading it to you now because you’ve just learned about our bloody history. I wanted you to see the transition after the war and how it opened our eyes. Our past isn’t something to be ashamed of, but something we should learn about, so we never repeat it. Hopefully if there is other life out there, they’ll be friendly, but just in case, we’re ready, this is why we still have the military and it’s the only reason why we should.
The class clapped at the log the teacher read, a few seconds later the bell rang, and they all went to their next class.
