Monday 1 May 2023

Earth In The Solar Commonwealth

"How To Be Ethnic..."

As we turn the page, this story becomes richer and richer in information about Earth in that future period. There are "...many-armed..." (p. 184) towers, ecocentres and an endless machine murmur. Traffic Control passes Jim's aircar so near a bus that he sees its passengers:

a dandified Lunarian;
a blue Alfzarian;
a spacehand wearing his Brotherhood badge;
a League journeyman.

Jim visits the Riefenstahls whose apartment overlooks the Golden Gate where crews restore the ancient bridge. In the living room, Betty merely punches for coffee. A transparent wall shows the city and the Moon with cities visible on its dark side. Betty's father, director of the San Francisco Opera, has revived live opera as against holographs and computer-generated works.

This is the daily life of the future as in Robert Heinlein's Future History.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

That punching for coffee means kitchens have become so automated that, unless you WANT to do it yourself, all you need to do is press a few controls to get what you want to eat or drink.

Ad astra! Sean