Goodnight - March 31, 2052
Well kiddies, what bedtime story do my favorite great, great, great grandchildren want to hear tonight?
I wanna hear how you got rich grandpa.
Well, Kim that's kind of a long story, and it's already pretty late. Don't forget I've got to get up early tomorrow. What do you think Rory?
I wanna hear about your jetbike gramps and how you set the galactic land speed record.
C'mon, you've heard that one a million times by now. How 'bout you John?
Well, grandfather, as you know I've always been interested in how you were able to calculate the variable power requirements for your 3-phase linear propulsion system using those absolutely stone-age computers of the early 2000's?
Well, that would sure put the other kids to sleep. Let's see...Michelle, since it's your birthday tomorrow, why don't I just let you pick?
Oh goody. Gramps, how about all your SkyTran stories - at least up until the year 2048 - the year when I was born.OK, but not all, just a few.
You do remember what I already taught you about how without the evolution of cheap super high-speed computers and sensors we never could have pulled it off. It's all about persistence, being in the right place at the right times and a lot of luck. Way back in 1962 famous people like J. R. Pierce, an executive director at the old Bell Telephone Labs, were predicting that 50 years in the future that driving and flying for face-to-face meetings would be largely replaced by interactive visual electronic communications. That was a long time ago. I was just a grad student at Stanford University on Earth at the time.
Thirty-eight years later as the new millennium approached, technological breakthroughs for visual based two-way communications were finally nearing a cost-effective product for the masses. The media began to seriously discuss the potential upcoming marketing explosion. It took another dozen years and only happened once Internet based Video Communication started delivering a quality picture that filled an entire screen at a 30 frames per second refresh rate. In just two years, that technology became a global norm. People really liked the instant convenience of two-dimensional, full color, face-to-face meetings. Unfortunately, in spite of the predictions that electronic communications would substitute for travel, all airline and surface traffic continued to grow!
But Grandfather, why didn't these great visual communications reduce the congestion problem?
Many factors, John, one being that medical technologies and health awareness progressed even faster and in just one lifetime the world's population doubled. Another was tourism. The experience of physically seeing, smelling, hearing and touching some remote spot on the planet could never be replaced by the best 3D SHDTV videos. Also, the large majority of people still went to factories or offices to work; to stores to buy; and to schools to learn. There simply was something important in our basic human nature that preferred the expensive, time-consuming hassles of transporting ourselves to personally meet, work and interact with other humans.
Our first business involvement in the transportation field coincided with the new millennium. By the year 2000, there were far more scheduled airline flights than in J. R. Pierce's 1962. There were also more cars and congestion on the roads than ever. People were frustrated and furious.
I remember mom and dad talking about that gramps, but how did we allow it to happen?
Obviously, for better or for worse primitive humans started it all. They caused it when they began pondering simple ideas on how to they might be able to get from place to place faster than they could walk or run. They didn't even speak or have a written language, so couldn't have philosophical discussions about the long-term implications of their technological advances. They just did the best they could with the tools and materials of each era and made continual minute improvements. As millenniums of human time passed, all kinds of inventors came up with better and better mechanized conveyances to take themselves places ever faster and faster. Inventive, creative humans could take credit for it all - from the first crude shoes to cover our bare feet to the Truax 10 million-pound thrust liquid propellant rocket engines that finally made space travel affordable for all. Those non-gimbaled, non-turbine pump, pressure fed Truax monster Aerospike engines became the basis for the beautifully simple, fully reusable, one day turnaround, rocket boosters that did the trick!
People who were born on earth and spent their entire lives back there were rather oblivious to the fact that their planet did not come preassembled with cities, paved roads, highways, railroad tracks and airports. We amazing, puny little humans built every little bit of it. The entire infrastructure was taken for granted and accepted as is. We think this lack of technological awareness was simply due to the fact that each newborn human doesn't start to become aware of the big world around itself until about age 3. It is almost impossible at that early age to grasp that all this "stuff" has not existed forever in its current form. We adapt to what is in the now. It becomes our reality.
Unfortunately, in a few rare cases, the technology driven changes that continually occur from this point on in human awareness terrify a few and they rebel against all technology. The infamous Unabomber of the 1990's was a great example. To him, technology was evil and had to be eradicated. He thought blowing up people would get his message across. He didn't even get it himself. He did not want all technology removed, he just wanted it to go back to the "right" level of technology - namely when he was three years old. It was quite mentally acceptable for that poor soul to use earlier "evil" technology and inventions such as outdoor toilets, paper, woven fabric for clothing, containers to hold water, shelters built of man made lumber, writing instruments, refined chemicals, mass produced electrical wire, teeny batteries, and the US Mail. Because these technological items were in use prior to when he was born, the Unabomber, simply did not perceive them as untrustworthy, or unacceptable evil technologies.
The automobile was a perfect example of the love/hate relationship with technology. Humans of the 20th century loved their car inventions! They also hated them at the same time. What a mess that most wonderful feature - fast, personal mobility - had created. Back in the year 2000, a decent car cost $20,000 or more and protective storage of that car took 20% of the available space inside one's home. That use of expensive space was logical, however, because buying a car took as much as 20% of one's after tax income. One also had to buy insurance and licenses to drive it. Gas cost $1.10 per gallon and most cars only got about 20 miles per gallon. Parking in a city easily cost over $10.00 per day or $2,500 per year! The consumption of raw land was also enormous. Parking lots at stores, parking lots at work, multi-story parking structures downtown, car storage room in the home, roads everywhere, dealerships, repair shops, parts stores and gas stations. Then there was the pollution, traffic lights, congestion, stress and frustration.
I find it hard to believe, grandfather, that as primitive as people were back then, they couldn't come up with any practical solutions? Didn't the government try to do anything?
