How do you becomes an inventor of many things but never file a patent or worry about manufacturing costs? You never need to develop a prototype, yet your invention works the first time you design it. Give up? You become a writer of science fiction, futuristic romance and cyberpunk. It's a given that you can't build a new world of the future with technology standing still for centuries.
So, in a world torn apart by mass destruction, corporate and government tyranny and the loss of freedom, what inventions still emerge as everyday items that have become as necessary as our current automobiles, fast food and cell phones?
Here is a sample of some of the technology that is highlighted in the first two books in the Cash Chronicles series (Full Moon Rising, Book 2, just released this month):
Transportation
From Frozen Assets, Book 1: "This is a water jet car." She laughed. "Some comics call them 'Wet-jets' after a gizmo they had … never mind. Anyway, it flies. Its fuel is water, actually steam. No waste or pollution."
So, you see, not only are humans flying daily in the world of the future, but their common means of transportation is ecologically-sound. The water jet releases steam which condenses into water and evaporates into the atmosphere. No pollution, no wasting of natural resources.
Fast Food
From Frozen Assets, Book 1: "These 2572s are so named because they can be stored until that year. They're activated by direct sunlight and a drop of water. Immediate expansion and they're reconstituted and are ready to consume. That's why we have to keep them in this bag."
William scratched his chin. "What's inside the bag, silver?"
Nicky shook his head. "It's a new carbon alloy. It's almost weightless and light deflecting properties."
"Does it harm the planet?" Caleb hated the way people in his time ruined the planet, covered Mother Earth with buildings, ruined its water, ruined the air. Having lived on a farm, his first thought was always conservation. From what Fran had told them, with Mil as the Primera destroy the world to rule it was the imperative.
"Oh, heavens no," Nicky said. "That wouldn't be very brown and this world is all about brown."
He frowned.
"What's brown?"
Nicky closed the bag.
"Of the earth. All products must be made from the earth so they can return to the earth."
Here we see that some old technology has evolved, not disappeared. Also, we see that in the world of the future there are many attempts to be ecologically friendly. This is ironic since the dictatorial government in power is responsible for so much of the future world's destruction.
Communication
You've heard about don't text and drive, what about this? From Full Moon Rising, Book 2: Projecting the image of his current study text onto the dash of the water/solar hybrid, Wallace Cash studied the molecular structure of antimatter and, multi-tasking, hit Mach 12, a nice smooth cruising speed.
Wallace's minoplex interphase also has video talking features and can be placed on special frequencies. It can project films and recent broadcasts and numerous other taks.
Recreation
Gambling has been outlawed, yet the machines still exist.
From Frozen Assets, Book 1:
"They're pretty," Win said, touching a bright red machine with five windows in the center. "How are they powered?"
"Wind," Nicky said. "Everything went either solar or wind-powered in 2050."
"Are you?" Win asked.
"Of course not." Nicky crossed his arms. "I'm made of organic material, polymers, self-healing and replicating crystalline structures and a computer for a brain. I am un-hackable and impervious to an electromagnetic pulse."
Win reached to touch a glowing yellow knob. Nicky clamped his hand around her wrist and jerked it back. "Don't touch anything. This place is a trap for the Constitutionalists. The games are armed with protection plutonic beams."
"I see the kill first, ask questions later mentality hasn't changed," Caleb muttered.
Which brings me to war and destruction. Caleb says that even though they're in the future, there is no peaceful attempt to get along but a seeming need of the government to protect some while destroying others. It is a world of factions, pitting neighbor against neighbor. This theme continues in Full Moon Rising, even though the world has been at an uneasy peace for a number of years. Below, war jets fly over, destroying a squad of government forces (in this time period, these are the good guys). That follows by "cleanup."
A shrill piercing noise followed and a close target trans-molecular aggravator hit ground zero, incinerating the remains.
Come join me in The Cash family's world of the future and find out what other inventions I've conjured up. I promise they all operate perfectly.
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Bobbye Terry writes contemporary romantic comedy and suspense under her real name and romantic fantasy and science fiction when writing as Daryn Cross. She is also half of the well-known writing duo of Terry Campbell. You can find her at http://www.daryncross.com/ and more about the series at http://www.thecashchroniclesseries.com/. Also check out Honey Blood and the Collector, released by Turquoise Morning Press at Amazon.
5 comments:
Oh my goodness, Bobbye, you've hit on a bunch of our major problems in this world.
Wow, I applaud your imagination! Fantastic ideas....
Love the excerpt. I love the idea that writing science fiction allows you to fix the problems in the world. What an imagination you have.
It's interesting to see how many things we take for granted today that were figments of a writer's imagination in the past. Science fiction often becomes fact.
Best of luck with your release.
~Adele
I wish I had your imagination. I agree it would be nice to fix the worlds problems. Smile.
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