Looking Forward by Kenneth Jr. (snow like ashes .txt) 📗

the average family has had income of around $6,000 per year. However, when there is almost no human labor cost to producing cybernated goods and services, it will be possible for everyone to have almost anything in any quantity! One hundred thousand dollars per year or $1,000,000 per year—it won’t matter. Of course, with practically no labor cost and limitless nuclear energy, things won’t have price tags. Prices are only a way of distributing the loot when there is not enough for everyone.

Man’s future will be a thousand times more exciting than his past. For the first time man will be free to work out any system of values that he desires—and to achieve these values. For the first time man will be in a position to make a thorough application of the scientific method of thinking so that his knowledge has predictability—so that he can solve his problems and not just patch them up crazy-quilt fashion. For the first time it will be possible to have a cornucopia of goods and services that will not be obtained by the sweat of someone’s brow.

“This is a time of transition...,” said Adlai Stevenson, “from the ancient problem of sharing scarcity to the modern problem of distributing abundance.” Cybernated technology will for the first time permit us to realize our human potential. We may achieve the deepest measure of life; we may enjoy the highest level of liberty; and we may have maximum scope in our pursuit of happiness.

PART II. A Projection of Our Future

8. At Home in the Twenty-first Century

Scott and Hella have been asleep two hours. They will probably awaken in about an hour. In the previous century it was considered normal for people to waste about one-third of their lives sleeping. One way to attack the problem of increasing the effective life-span has been to make two or three hours of sleep as effective as eight or nine hours previously was. Several genetic improvements, an increase in oxygen in the sleeping chamber, plus the development of deeply relaxed personalities almost free of hostility and tension has proved successful.

Further genetic improvements are expected to minimize even more the amount of sleep required. The reduction, if not elimination, of sleep is not desired for its own sake. This world of the latter part of the twenty-first century is stimulating and challenging. There is so much to do and see. The limitless intellectual horizons, the esthetic delights, and the sensual feelings are too many and varied to be fully savored in the average lifetime of 200 years.

Although Scott and Hella are asleep, they are surrounded by great dynamism. Everything around them is being controlled by their home computer, known as the cybernator. This small computer is built into the wall and they never see it although it is in use every minute of the day. They have gradually trained their cybernator to meet their needs in thousands of ways. Through the cybernator Scott and Hella can verbally command any mechanism in their apartment. The cybernator also handles their messages to the Correlation Center.

The automated bed upon which Hella lies nude and unrestricted by clothing, sheets, or blankets, responds in a living way to support her body. There are no pressure points, no creases. This soft membrane gradually moves in a rhythm and pattern that over the years has proved to be most relaxing to Hella. The rhythm that is most relaxing to Scott during sleep is slightly different and the cybernator is also attending maximally to his needs. Since people change, the input sensors of the cybernator in the apartment are constantly scanning to explore whether they would have more relaxation if the sleeping membrane were to undulate in a different manner.

If Scott and Hella were to have a thousand servants, they would not receive the services that are available to them through the cybernator. Not only are the undulations of the bed constantly adapted to meet their needs, but other aspects of their sleeping chamber are being maintained by the cybernator to give maximum restfulness and comfort. A controlled, ionized atmosphere adds to their feeling of well-being. The temperature, humidity, mixture of air, and background music are constantly being adjusted to meet their individual needs at the moment. If one of Hella’s feet drops three degrees below her optimal temperature range, an infrared beam immediately brings it back to the desired level.

Sleep in the twenty-first century is no longer a haven from the trials and tribulations of the day—“the balm of tired minds.” Scott and Hella have never experienced nightmares—these are part of the long list of things about previous centuries that they are really unable to understand except on an abstract level. In the past centuries, conflicts produced tension-filled lives that were temporarily relieved by alcohol and tranquilizers. The repressions and injustices of the day were expressed at night as disturbing dreams and nightmares. In Scott and Hella’s world one’s feelings and impulses are accepted both in thought and action so that hours of sleep are not vitiated by the romping of repressed feelings. Scott and Hella rarely dream, but when they do, their dreams usually revolve around pleasant things they plan for the next day.

Scott and Hella’s lives are not governed by rigid schedules. There are practically no deadlines, and there is no need for them to awake at any particular time. The sensing extensions of the cybernator are able to determine when their bodies have absorbed all the rest they needed. Gradual changes are made that will prepare them to awaken with a full-of-energy feeling. The temperature of the sleeping chamber is reduced several degrees. The lighting of the chamber is increased and background music of a type enjoyed by Scott and Hella in the morning will soon begin.

As Scott and Hella awaken, they have a feeling of anticipation. A new day is here. New and interesting thoughts with new beauties to be experienced and new sensations are to be felt! Lying together for the first few minutes