FUTURE CITY: VISIONS AND BEYOND

FUTURE CITY SERIES: PART 10

DREAMING THE FUTURE

‘We have our Dreams,We had our Dreams, But… We love Reality more’

An Enchanting trip to “Natureo-Technocity”

BY

ANKITA CHAKRABORTY

Broadly widening my eyes, I see, yes I see a ‘New City’ around me. The city which in some instance portrays an image of a ‘oh--so wanted’ place, a place which everyone must have thought or wished of. Such a World might have surely come in the minds of people, in their most cherished & enthusiastic dreams, of residing in places with the most modern and luxurious forms ever available, beholding them all. Daydreamers too must surely have tasted the ‘slice of’ refreshing thoughts of an almost perfect city, a city which would quench every drop of thirst for those dreaming ‘Big’ amidst the ‘unwanted world  in old age’ or ‘frowning look of the boss’ or ‘the boring lectures in class’ - Yes, in fact, the harsh reality of life.

But do dreams if turned to Reality, ultimately fulfill the innermost latent desires? Spare few minutes to think…  Well, when done, can put on tiny steps on  my ‘Natureo-Technocity’. It is indeed here where a new revolutionary journey begins for me.

The very first step in the New World seemed to transform me into a new being. The city spaces provide with its special aura. Magnificence of its aura, majesticity of its structures, lavishness of its sceneries makes me wonder the spellbinding art behind such a creation. Every nook and corner reminds me of ‘Cities I ever dreamt of’. The very picture before me was that of miles and miles of expanse of land sculptured almost judiciously with the perfect ‘tint’ of a painter and ‘tilt’ of an architect. A ‘Green Carpet’ like shining length of road was laid over the city as if welcoming guests for overlooking at its Gallant form. I step my feet in it and start discovering the very essence of my ‘Natureo-Technocity’.

‘Natureo-Technocity’ is not only filled with wonders but it did offer a chance to understand two very interesting lives residing in it. As I started walking on the delicate carpet-like road, I felt the glimpse of an entirely different world, left totally amazed, as I stood watching the Giant Skyscrapers almost thrice the height of ‘Burj-Khalifa’ encircling the entire city as far as my vision was possible. A ring closer to the centre had enormous sized Villas placed one over the other as if someone made them in the manner the way people built ‘City Towers’ in their phones. Such were attached to hanging bridges which acted as communication networks connecting the entire city. 

The next innermost circle comprised a huge semi-floating ‘Earth-like’ oblique structure which was surrounded by deep greenery on all of its side. Oh, a noticeable point was that every structure had greens on both of its ends. This reminded me of a ‘Delicious Foot-long Veg. Sandwich’ at the ‘Subways’ which never ever is complete without the sumptuous fresh greens in it at regular intervals. Foodies have queerest bases of comparison and I, being one, could not help but compare!

Those exciting, extraordinary scenery before me made my jaws extend to the maximum stretch as ever possible, just in a manner you are short of time but have to finish the ‘Zinger Burger of KFC’ in just very few bites!!! Hmm… before I could more and more expand my jaws and wonder where exactly I am, to my earnest surprise, a Helipad appeared before me. The most unusual part was the ‘Driver’ who without so much of a word, opened the door of the back seat for me. Accordingly, without a word I stepped in. And there started my ride to the ‘Future city’.

A female voice was audible, so I could apprehend it was none other  but a woman's. The striking part was that I was not able to see her face as her flowing hair seemed to cover it completely. I could only see my sideways from the vehicle as the front had no transparent glass or so or might have a very tiny one for the Lady driver to see or else how could she even drive, say! The Driver strongly recommended me to put on my seat belts and I followed all her instructions religiously. The vehicle moved on the road but with time it gained momentum and started flying high in sky.

Peeping through the side-windows, I could see all the different architecture of the buildings surrounded by greenery and patches of water bodies. It made me think instantly ‘How Green is My Valley betwixt the Gigantic Infrastructures’. Mother nature seems to guard the anthropogenic creation with its own delicate hands.

It could be apprehended that the new technologies developed have unlocked massive streams of data about cities and their residents and turned it to a unique civic laboratory-a place where technology is adapted in novel ways to meet local needs. There was an almost equality in the city spaces as compared to what we see, slums and neglected housing of the downtrodden, were not present here. Huge lake seemed to guard Natureo-city all throughout. The presence of Nature and Man’s technological midas touch in close harmony with each other can never be better viewed  than this. The vision of such can undoubtedly be named as the ‘Perfect future city’. Similarly, or rather, I was more astonished to see that the Driver was nothing other than a ‘Robot’, you actually see in movies!!!

I decided to get down near the colossal skyscrapers and explore them while walking. Accordingly, I landed near an airport. Visiting places and exploring had always been my passion, so, my keen desire was now ready to get accomplished. So I roamed about. Nothing till date had I seen so swift except the ‘Racing Games’ on video games/mobile phones/televisions. But here, life seemed too the same.

People, their vehicles are all always in a hurry as if a single ‘stop’ would bring a total ‘full-stop’ in their lives! Yet, traffic jams were hardly seen perhaps due to the  numerous roadways, highways and over-bridges, connecting brilliantly almost as ‘Networking one achieves in Facebook’. Relating such and walking past with pace, I accidently clashed with a woman somewhat 4-5 years older than me. I was almost about to curse myself at wasting her 4-5 precious seconds, surprisingly, the woman greeted me with a sweet smile and asked whether I am new in ‘Natureo-technocity’. People are extremely welcoming is all that I could say. Storing her picture in my mind, I kept moving.

The skyscrapers were centres of economy, polity as there beholded offices of all kinds and also administrative centres. Lifts operated so swiftly that I doubted the people inside to faint at least once they step on it! Oblong structures representing different industries were present.

I wondered from where the raw material would come, may be from the cities past the huge lake- specialised growth of raw materials. A car manufacturing industry came close-by and on entering, I saw a band of Robots working. It was completely mechanized with just very few human beings to have a look at it. Several more steps and I found the most modern ‘Outdoor Playground’ where kids were provided with all forms of outdoor games. Hit a ball hard and in no moment it comes back to you again like a Boomerang!. Everything was computerized and a complete monitoring was present so that parents don’t have to worry about their wards and catch hold of them there.

Zenith of technological advancement amazed me to such an extent that my eyes could well be compared to the Bengali term of ‘Chana bora’ (protruding eyes).  In spite of all the throbbing, resulting out of excitement to explore more and more, the very sobbing image of a young boy aged around 5-6 years, diminished it. Amiably enquiring of his behaviour, he confessed that he wanted his parents to be present at the ‘Football Tournament’ to be held that very day, but, they simply refused, saying it would be a waste of their time and would watch the recorded game some other day. It was the boy’s first ever tournament, naturally, his innocent expectation was nothing other than the presence of his parents. Though very few elders, I mean real few in numbers were there, most of the kids were made to be okay, but none can help but this poor, little innocent soul. To change his mood and bring back his jovial side, I cracked some silly jokes, don’t remember them though!! Believe me, I felt a dissimilar happiness, which I had not experienced until this day.

This incident somewhere in my heart made a drilling impact. How well I thought everything around me was- the ultimate one! Was I wrong to be so much assured? Don’t know… I decided to move to the next circle where I had earlier noticed the residential villas.

While moving through the elevated highway, something striking caught hold of my sight. I could see several Robots in a swift mission of drilling land and some entering underground, managed by few human beings. At my eager pondering over the very site, made the Driver, this time a human, thankfully, for not taking the shit out of me of what I faced knowing the reality in the previous ride, explained rigorous drilling takes place where all garbages and other wastes are dumped and covered so as to maintain the ‘Aesthetic Beauty’.

How can people throw such harmful, intoxicated wastes without even thinking of the proper ways of disposal; hit my mind. And my questions hit him, but he seemed to appreciate more of the outward cleanliness and totally ignorant of the infectious injection they are inserting in Mother Earth! My thoughts soaked away for a moment when I was travelling past the narrow thickness of greenery, I could hear sweet, chirping sounds of birds, a blithesome view of the silent patches of water and feel the tender welcome of the trees and plants. 

The villas were unique in their own way. The Settlement system followed more of Circular pattern. Lavish 4-5 storied villas occupied the major portions followed by some 2 storied villas and normal villas and big houses. Playing a guessing game with my mind, I made it up that such a variation in the size of residence might be due to the differential occupation of people. But what struck the chord was that, there were no broken/small/neglected households. Everyone around must have a shelter on their head.

Somewhere, just close to the main roadway was seen a wide expanse of heap almost the size of a ‘plateau’.  To my utter shock, it had nothing but all forms of domestic waste laid, smelling too foul. Catching the glimpses of lavishness, comfort for all on one hand and the profuse waste-dumping on the other, a mixed response began clinging. Sometime later, I got down and started my ‘ever act of exploring’. Looked at the settlements- they had all the ampleness, abundance, material comfort ever imagined of in life. Sizes differed, but they were planned with pure accuracy. Cleanliness was well-maintained with dump-boxes at almost every nook and corner. There were shopping centres, amusement parks, entertainment buildings catering to the recreation of all.

As I was going to another section I collided with an elderly lady. Accepting profuse apology, a sweet smile & a sweet voice inquired if I was a new entrant. I nodded in agreement. She invited me to her apartment just a few blocks away. We went there riding in her; what appeared to be a bi-cycle fitted with enough seat for two passengers which drove like a dream.

Entering her flat had a dream-like effect on me. I just could not stop gawking at the most beautifully, aesthetically done interior. Suddenly from nowhere some snacks & tea arrived; carried by a sweet gamine like robot. It welcomed me & served me with snacks. We had a nice chat about one & sundry. She told me stories about how the Earth-shaped structure at the centre of the city had all religious idols and beliefs located in one place so as to remove the difference among people out of religious sentiments and to preach equal love for all religions.

I inquired after her health. She then showed me her family album. There was a sadness in her as she wistfully told how she misses her husband and son & his family. I asked if they are in another place/country. She replied that her husband is very much there, in fact in the next room. But He seldom comes out as every amenity –food, water, medicine –even going to the loo –is all done by the ROBOTS. Every whim, every wish is catered to by them with clinical precision.

About her son she said the last time she saw him was when he left for higher studies to a foreign country. There He met his wife through Facebook ,chatted with her in  Skype,  proposed & married her-hold on –in SKYPE. As both could not afford to waste time in such silly rituals. A few years later they had a son through sperm donation. Now the son is being raised by a robot. The old lady saw them just two days-one on his baptising day & the other when He first went to school. Sudden staccato sound & the words-‘ Hey you are being late for breakfast’ had me jump from the bed.........Oh My God- I realised I WAS DREAMING!!!!!  

  

As I readied for breakfast I could not help pondering over my fantastic creative dream.....   

‘Natureo-Technocity’ in every possible manner is one-of-a-kind you would ever aspire for or dream of. Bountiful of basic amenities to the munificent presence of all material pursuits cherished my inner desires that was longing for using them. I felt as if people in Natureo-Technocity are showered with all happiness, all contentment of life.

There was a sense of security as everything in and around them was monitored- but doesn’t too much monitoring always have a notion behind your mind of the fact that; 'I am being watched by people unknown to me’, which in certain points of time affects my ‘true sense of freedom’?? When You want to keep a hi-tech city crystalline clear and well-maintained in the eyes of visitors, why don’t you purify your own conscience and take immediate measures to tackle the callous dumping, drilling activities? 

I might be utmost happy to see the zenith of technological development, the almost disappearance of class-society but somewhere deep in the core of my heart I am equally or rather seriously hurt to see my fellow-humans. How mechanized they have grown with time! My heart still sobs for the young boy in the playground and the old woman in the lonely house and also for others like them with whom I couldn’t interact.

Material pleasure is slowly snatching away the lives of people- they might be ignorant of.  Even if they are aware, they are too occupied in greed for more that they do not see what the gloomy future holds for them.

I was rather overjoyed to be here some times before; but now I am down with utter melancholy. The aphorism which stands apt at this moment is that it is always better to live in a healthy, advanced city but not so advanced where you don’t have time for your close ones!! How I wish I could put the positive sides in my real life & pray the negatives negate themselves out. As and always- it is peaceful, assuring to live in a city where each & everyone irrespective of their differences can breathe in their own space & remain emotionally protected around their Beloved Family-AMEN!!!!!!!!! 

Author’s Bio- Note:

Ankita Chakraborty is currently pursuing her Masters degree from Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

FUTURE CITY: VISIONS AND BEYOND

FUTURE CITY SERIES: PART 9

A CITY HIDDEN IN FUTURE

MARIO AND THE PAINTBRUSH....

BY

SHINJINI BHATTACHARJEE

Beneath an opaque sky,

Beside the river running by,

Nestled in the lap of hills

As high as dreams

There lies a city…

It glistens in the day,

Glitters at night.

Beyond the fields of hope

Thrives the little city…

As time wears it down

And the Heavens all frown,

Down the waters of sorrow

Drowns the lone city!

But as the times turn,

The morning birds greet the Sun…

In a faraway land

Is born a new city…

Mario stood in his studio, facing his canvas. The sunlight streaming in from the glass windows; drew patterns on the white expanse in front of him. He held his newly acquired possession in his grip and marvelled at it. It was a paint brush to die for. Never before, in his career as a painter, had he come across a brush as handsome as this one. It was a definite eye catcher. The light slipping off its handsome mahogany body made it glitter brilliantly. He was happy. Ecstatic.

It was no normal paintbrush.  The famous magician Longwood had passed away last week and his belongings were to be auctioned. Mario, who never missed such opportunities of bagging exclusive antiques and artifacts, paid his customary visit. He did not know how that paintbrush came to be a part of Longwood’s collection. All he knew at the very first instant of looking at it was, that it was meant to be his.

Mario had it all decided. He wanted to create an artwork on a city set in the future. This had been his dream since long and he was about to realize it soon. His excitement knew no bounds. Hence, he began, every bit of his concentration focused on the canvas, the source of his confidence gripped tightly in his hand. He started creating magic with his paintbrush, as the cityscape slowly started taking shape on the blank sheet of paper.

As was quite often the case with Mario, he lost track of time as the hours ticked by and the bold sweeps of his brush made the mystery of the city of his dreams unfold before his eyes. Before he knew it, he lay asleep on his bean bag in front of the canvas as the clock on the mantelpiece showed half past midnight.

Mario

Mario in the Land of the Unknown

Mario woke up with a stinging feeling near his left ankle. He opened his eyes slowly and felt his insides contracting. He pinched himself, once---twice, to make sure he was dreaming. He sat up with a start and felt like yelling his lungs out, only to find that his voice was lost.

Mario found himself lying on a huge stretch of glass panel. Wherever he looked about himself, it was just a long linear expanse of transparent, crystal clear glass. He was suddenly aware of the pain in his ankle and he turned to find that a piece of shattered glass was stuck in there. He picked it out and stood up. It was then, that it struck him. The landscape all around him was a replica of the painting he was working on, before he drifted off to sleep.

He was a part of his painting. He felt sick out of fright. He had been sucked into the painting and he did not have the faintest idea about how or when it had happened. He was too caught up in these thoughts when he realized that there was something in the right pocket of his pyjamas. He shoved his hand into his pocket and found the paintbrush. Now, that was something. He tried to remember hard and was almost convinced that he had kept the brush back in its place before lying down on the couch to rest for some time. 

He was overtly careful with the brush and it did not seem likely to him that he would put it in his pocket. He wouldn’t manhandle it. Not this brush. He held the brush in his grip and felt certain of one thing, in his current state of uncertainty and helplessness.

He knew it was a magic paintbrush. He knew that it was because of the brush that he was a part of a city of his imagination. Lastly, he knew not how, but he was determined to get out. Hence he put his only belonging back into his pocket and made up his mind to explore the city and find a way out of it. Only one thing boosted him up and gave him confidence. That after all, it was HIS creation, the city. Nobody knew it better than he himself. Therefore, if anyone could explore its limits and get away from it, it was none other than him.

The Glass Road

Mario and the “ Hidden City”

Mario was about to start walking along the glass road, when something caught his eye. The moment he took his first step on the glass, letters started forming beneath the glass façade, the way they did in digital devices. Mario saw that it was actually indicative of his position in the city. “Hidden Lane”, it read. Then, as he started walking further, arrows stemmed out in different directions beneath the glass screen, showing him where the road went. Mario followed the arrow that said “ Way to Hidden City”. He was quite amazed to find that he did not face any difficulty in walking over glass. Perhaps it was made in such a way. After walking for some time, Mario reached a point, where he saw a glass staircase leading him far below, beneath the glass layer.

Seeing no other way, Mario took the staircase. On reaching the last stair, Mario looked up to find himself standing at the foot of a giant vertical tower, the tip of which; was not visible to him. The tower housed multiple floors. Mario got inside the tower. It was as big as Times Square and was just as crowded with buildings and people. Mario went up to a group of men in order to let them know of his situation, only to discover to his utter disappointment that he was as good as thin air to these people. Distraught, he began taking rounds of the place, in the hope of finding some way that would take him back where he belonged.

The City Tower

The ways of the “ Hidden City”

In the process of doing this, he made observations about the place, that gave him an insight about the city and its various aspects.

He noticed that the ground floor housed humble buildings. The houses were barely anything apart from being single storeyed. It was not a very well planned space, as Mario noted. The housing areas were interspersed with the market areas. The people also caught Mario’s attention. They were uniform in their humble appearances. They seemed to belong to the lower strata of the society. Mario took trips of all the subsequent floors of the tower.

There were airborne flying saucers, which hung in midair, not very far above the ground, thereby defying gravity. The machines were self-controlled. Mario climbed up into one of them and saw that it had buttons for the specific floors. Thus, he took a trip of the city at its different levels in one of the flying saucers, which were called as “Levitators”.

As Mario visited each floor of the tower, he observed that there was a definite hierarchy. The residential areas as well as the people were symbolic of affluence as the levels rose. Even the cityscape was planned in a much better way as one went up from the lower levels to the higher ones. Thus, the city had been planned so as to classify it vertically into segments of varying levels of development. The topmost floor was representative of luxury, while the ground floor reflected deprivation. 

On his detour, Mario came across a digital billboard which said that the year he had been transported into was 2200! He was amazed to find how, it was a vertical urban sprawl that had replaced the horizontal expansion of cities of the present. Also, it struck him that some apocalyptic event must have occurred and dramatically brought down the human population. Otherwise, no city, in its entirety, anywhere in the world would have fit into this columnar structure.

As Mario delved into the various other aspects of the city, he discovered new things about its economy, polity, society and geography.

Every citizen of Hidden City was allotted portions of land in the area surrounding the glass tower. They were to grow the food items of their need for themselves. The affluent people tended to employ workers from the lower classes to do it on behalf of them, while others did it on their own.

The forces of production were all owned by the Government and there were no profit-seeking private players in the market to bring about a glaring divide between the rich and the poor. Based on their abilities, the citizens engaged in Government jobs of varying ranks. The educational institutions groomed the citizens accordingly. The Government policy was structured in such a manner that the concept of illiteracy did not prevail, nor did that of unemployment. Also, the small size of population made that possible to a large extent.

The transport system was restricted solely to the airways and the flying vehicles used non-polluting eco-friendly fuel. Air traffic congestion was a non-existent concept. This is because, the vehicles were all owned by the Government and no allowance was made for private ownership of the same. As a result, there was a stipulated number of vehicles that were present in and around the city. This kept the question of congestion and pollution at bay.

Keeping in mind the ecological balance of the city, the Government had also made it mandatory for the citizens to plant trees outside their respective houses, as a way of keeping the city green.

Another intriguing and peculiar fact about the city was that, the glass cover surrounding the city was built in such a way, that it kept the city insulated from the actual weather conditions, outside of the glass cover.

Outside the city, an artificial lake had been created which had plenty of mushroom shaped stations mounted on it, with closed circuit cameras and monitoring devices for constant surveillance and better administration.

The social life of the city attracted Mario the most. Since the population size was more or less small, social interaction took place at a great pace and the individual neighbourhoods were like extended families. Mario came across a particular street in one of the floors of the city tower, named as “Leisure Street”, which housed the places of entertainment in the city. The old tradition of socializing in-person had taken over the online world of communication and interaction. None of the Government offices were open after 5 in the evening. The city folks, therefore, got enough time after work to spend with their families and friends. Leisure Street boomed with life, once the Sun went down the horizon.

Hidden City, as Mario noticed, was marked by a clustering of similar kinds of activities.

The roads inside the city were automated in such a way, so that they could move on their own, such that the commuters did not have to walk  by themselves. The roads were used to travel only short distances, while the airways were the only mode of transportation for traversing longer routes. The distance between adjacent cities was tremendous and was nothing like what it was in the world where Mario belonged.

Mario also came across another interesting characteristic feature of the city. The citizens kept pets, which were essentially robots. They were put to use for doing household chores. Keeping humans as household aids was a foreign concept. Nor were there any provision for keeping pet animals at home.

Mario had a feeling that the conventional sources of energy had already been exhausted in the years that had passed in the meantime. The city was entirely based on hydel and wind power sources. Windmills were stationed at frequent intervals all around the city.

It was a self-sufficient city. It was an empire in itself, which was aptly named, since it was obscured from view by the overlying glass cover. It seemed like the only city existent in the world.

Leisure Street

Back he comes

Mario, incapable of finding a way out of the city, followed his way back to the point from where the stairs had begun. Exhausted from his efforts which were all in vain, he lay down on the glass floor, beneath a starless sky. As soon as he hit the floor, his body gave way to sleep.

Mario woke up with the sunlight tickling his eyelids. He opened his eyes, sure enough to find himself on the hard glass. However, he could not believe his eyes when he saw the familiarity of his studio. He sat up and searched his pocket. The paint brush was still there. Mario checked his left ankle. The cut from the glass had almost healed, but it was there, all the same.

Mario looked up at the incomplete painting and got the shock of his life. He had painted the landscape alright, but he never painted the glass tower. About that, he was positive. But there it was, right there, in the centre of the landscape. He stared at his work in utter bewilderment. Then he held up the paint brush in his palm and smiled. The magic brush that had changed his life forever, was shining bright as the sunlight seeping in from the glass windows caressed it. Just the way it had done, when he fell in love with it for the first time.

The Magic Brush

Author’s Bio- Note:

Shinjini Bhatacharjee is currently pursuing Post Graduation from Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

FUTURE CITY: VISIONS AND BEYOND

FUTURE CITY SERIES: PART 8

A WORLD UNDER : UNDER- WORLD URBANIZATION

SURROGATES

BY

SANCHAYITA CHATTERJEE

                                                     

And then Rahul could hear the alarm ringing. That was supposed to be his wake up call, though not really for him to wake up but just to switch on his surrogate version. And then again the rest of the work will be done. “Rest of the work” includes household chores, dropping his daughter to school, going to office, do his job, and then coming back again at evening with some shopping if there is any need for it. As for Rahul, he just needs to sit comfortably in his sofa or lie in his bed and monitor the Surrogate Rahul. It’s of his age, size and technically similar but just a biological Robot.  

An eye on the alarm clock reminded him the date 21^st August 2067. No he isn’t waiting for the salary to reach his bank account for managing the robot all day long. It was exactly the date 15 years back when he was married to Anjali. Things used to be easier back then and of course more pleasant. Every year, Rahul used to gift her something and she used to wait eagerly for that. But not anymore, at least not for the last 5 years. She was lying beside him.

Waving away all those thoughts Rahul lazily moved his hand towards the console, switched the Robot on and sent him for the cleaning. He moved towards Tinni, their only child, 8 now, to wake her up. The only job in his whole day that actually allows for stretching his muscles, not that he doesn’t love to, but he doesn’t need to.

Tinni isn’t much of a trouble like her mother; once awake she herself will get her console and switch her Surrogate Robot on and the rest. She is still in Tutorial mode, so she needs some help of her father but days are coming sooner than ever when she won’t even need that.

Rahul took some effort to make a cup of coffee for himself but the Robot-maid denied his wish, as it was already programmed ‘coffee at 7:15 along with breakfast pill and served where he is’. Rahul sometimes hate these things, he feels the surprise, the waiting, and the eagerness about anything is gone. Things would come as per the programming done and not leave room for much change.

Rahul was waiting for Rahul’s order to get Tinni ready for school. He was thinking that he won’t send her to school. Dad and her little princess will just spent some laid-back time together at least on this day. His clouds of thoughts were cracked by Tinni’s demand to get her Robot ready for school as she has an important assignment to submit and a debate competition to participate in.

After the Robots left, Rahul didn’t have much to do. Tinni was with her console and her Goggle Vision, she can see whatever her Robot can see & read. That helps her to learn whatever is happening to school without being actually present there. It’s not only for her but for the kids of this whole city, they can sit back at home and can have school like experience.

Rahul was observing his robotic versions move, it waved Tinni good bye near the school gate and moved towards his office in the solar powered car, it has become too cheap these days. He still remembers how pleasant the walk used to be from Tinni’s school to his office; the sunlight was milder back then, almost harmless. Now anyone wouldn’t even dare to go out in sunlight. The holes in the ozone layer have effected havoc, UV rays are dangerous than ever. That’s how the solution and importance of Surrogate Robots have reached the epitome. They don’t have a skin so they are not affected, human being can stay at home; underground, inside sealed doors and windows that wouldn’t let them get harmed and keep them safe. 

Rahul still remember those days; 5 years back; it was a sensation all around, the RUSSIANS had predicted a dangerous hole would burst open in the ozone layer especially near the equator and can spill catastrophic havoc on mankind but NASA waded of this whole idea claiming this to be just another threat from the skeleton of Soviet government. But they were proved wrong in less than ten days.

UV rays carved a niche for itself damaging the ozone layer, continents, countries, millions of people were literally burnt. Most affected was the Dark Continent of Africa. Anjali was there on a photography project she wished to go since she didn’t even remember. Like thousands of people she came back dipped in a solution, only heart pumping; skin or any other organs couldn’t respond. The doctors said she’s in coma, with no chances of coming back. Even if her brain starts responding, she will die instantly of skin suffocation. But still, Rahul wanted to keep her as it was. He could never sign her off, never give up on her, like he never did, like she never died. 

Those holes started to spread all over and now it has affected Calcutta. Yes, the name has been changed back to its Colonial version. People in this city too don’t go out any more. There are no traffic jams near Shyambazar. It seemed impossible fifty years back but programmed robots are not supposed to break signals or overtake or whatever nonsense Humans used to do.

Now people stay back in their cool cozy homes and the Surrogate Robots were there to handle the rest. The high-rise buildings near Rajarhat are the only place where people like surrogates work. Factories are run by machines. Human prefers to stay hidden and concealed; they don’t have a choice either, because that's the only way to stay alive.

His train of thoughts stopped by the beep of his console indicating that his surrogate has reached the office, after submitting the bills and annual maintenance charge for the family. Then it's supposed to be same old boring job in his cubicle. Though, not supposedly a busy day, but Rahul was feeling restless. He rather wanted to do something else. He had a glance on Tinni; she seemed busy in her class.

Tinni was just 3; when Anjali returned in an incubator. Earlier he used to take her in the nearby park beside the lake every evening for a stroll. They used to roam, buy her something or just gibberish talks. Anjali used to join twice or thrice a week, she used to be busy with her project and devoted the whole time for that after Tinni was born and stable, that paid her off with an assignment with National Geographic to Africa. She gave him the news making Rahul glad and gloomy at the same time. A three month long project and he didn't have the faintest idea that she will come back in just 2 weeks.

Rahul was feeling frustrated since he hadn't seen the sunlight, never felt heat or sweat in the last 5 years, never twitched a muscle after a long walk along the road. He felt like breaking free, his angst of bondage to let him be alive was killing him from inside every minute. He pacified himself while his eyes fell on Tinni. She stretched her arms and legs; must be her lunch break. The maid-Robot served her with Lunch Pills.

These pills keep them alive, tasteless, odorless, but would pacify your hunger for at least six to eight hours. Rahul thought; she probably doesn’t remember how sunlight used to be. Being inside, under the fluorescent lights, Rahul can’t even imagine his childhood like this. But the reign of Mother Nature had them accept these situations. The pollution level got higher day by day, they warned about the carbon footprint, about the results. The ICT wasn’t less responsible for this breach but can’t be avoided. Smart Cities were affected the highest. New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Tokyo, New Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hong-Kong all are heading towards being deserted. 

People are moving towards forest or towards the poles for a temporary refinement, while being unsure of how long that would last. But that again indicates a total breakdown of economy. If human doesn’t earn or spend, the ABM (Automatic Banking Machine) set up at everyone’s home is going to be outdated. It will lose its ability to trail out money for the day, as per the date of the month and requirement of the family. The most urbanized species would have no choice but to get back to the lap of nature where it all started million years back as almost all of the cities are increasing the size of the hole in the ozone layer on them.

Millions of Rahul are getting frustrated by being dependent on something or someone else. Human nature is changing as days pass by. People hate to go out of their confinement; gatherings and gossiping around can only be found in Tinni’s history book. Where it mentions people in the cities once used to go out of their houses have fun, meet each other, during various festivities, but not anymore.  

Rahul was wondering how long this would go on, would he be alive, when an artificial ozone layer can actually be created, that he read on the News Slides the other day. It was destroyed the very next day as soon as its importance is finished. Unlike the newspaper that would pile at corner of the home like in early days of this century, or else he would have checked it once more. But Rahul felt impatient and fantasized about once going up from his underground home and just to check through his own eyes how the sky looks, he could bet this time of the year it’s the bluest. But on a second thought, he was terrified of a future for him like what Anjali is leading. Heart-Pumping. But then again he couldn’t pacify himself, he felt too restless to sit and control the console he kept it aside.

Moved his legs, looked at Tinni who was busy as usual. With each moving step Rahul remembered that his only reason for joy in the last 5 years has been Tinni. What he was about to do could make her nothing but an orphan. But still he couldn’t resist himself.

One peek-a-boo and then again he would be back in his own comfy home, is what Rahul decided. Each step was heavier than before. Years of non-movement has made his muscles stiff. On the way to the elevator the muscles started to revolt; they won’t give up years of laziness.

But Rahul could not control his inconsolable absence of the sky, one breath in the natural air, no matter how polluted it has become, Tinni, but nothing could have stopped him today. He could see the faintest sunlight breaching through the elevator. He could feel the sensation in his skin, he moved faster so that he could come back before it actually affects him. The path didn’t seem to end.

Rahul didn’t remember whether he did left this whole artificial environment for once. That even pushed him further. He was getting closer by each step. Rahul pushed the lift button and waited for it to reach down. Wait, he thought one of the many things missing from today’s life no one has to wait for anything before you think the job is done as programmed.

He stepped into the elevator it started moving up, he could smell it. The air was different he could sense something wasn’t right. Rahul was feeling tired like never before, but not to go back he felt a sense of dizziness spreading all over him He couldn’t move his fingers. Last thing he remembered was his own voice that rang into his ears, “You wouldn’t be doing that”. He was dragged back.

And then Rahul could hear the alarm ringing. That was supposed to be his wake up call, though not really for him to wake up but just to switch on his surrogate version. And then again the rest of the work will be done.

Author’s Bio- Note:

Sanchayita Chatterjee is currently pursuing Masters in Geography from Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.