Dustin Zhang ’22
Innovation 2060 Ding! He felt the pleasant sensation of an awakening. The sunlight shone upon his blankets, the curtains having opened upon the approach of dawn. He took off his headset and glanced at the time. 6:45? Oh, right, he had a meeting this morning! He hurriedly put on his suit and brushed his teeth, thankful that that headset had worked; it normally did, but after all, there was always that one-percent chance. He could already smell the scent of freshly fried eggs and toast. Downstairs, he scooped his finished breakfast out of the pan on the stovetop, relishing its taste, its consistency, everything about it. He decided to grab a cup of coffee as well; he pulled out the screen and swiped through all the options, before settling on a decaf. As the coffee began pouring into the paper cup, he anticipated the sensation of the warm drink flowing through his system, revitalizing him, preparing him for the meeting to come. If only the coffee maker could be like all his other appliances and automatically predict his preferences based on his habits and patterns . . . but oh well, one can’t have everything, he supposed. Once he had finished eating, he brushed himself off, grabbed his papers and his keys, and walked out the door, which locked behind him and sent a signal to the rest of the house to begin cleaning. The sleek car in his driveway opened its doors, sensing the presence of its owner, and he climbed in. The prompt came up: [Suggested destination: Office?]. He tapped yes and leaned back in the comfortable seat as the engine came to life and the car backed out of the driveway, sending him onwards towards the rest of his day. 2100 The late morning sun was the first thing he saw as he peacefully arose from the depths of his slumber. The back of his portable movement device rose up, bringing him into a sitting position. A screen lowered from the ceiling above him; [Reminder: You have a meeting today in 1 hour.] His toothbrush, toothpaste already on it, was placed into his palm, and he quickly brushed his teeth. 17
