How could life look like if we reach true multi-sensorial immersion and are able to see, hear, touch, smell and even taste objects and forget they are unreal? What would it mean to have complete freedom to make decisions, influence and interact with the world and can create, change, move, do anything we want? What if the simulated reality is the same size or even bigger than the real observable universe and move almost instantenously? How would it be if billions of people woke up every day and spent most of their time in a simulation that has become the world economy? And most important of all, if we do this out of free will because it is the final destination of a journey that started thousands of years and is the best possible way to live life, not only for ourselves, and our loved ones, physically and mentally, but also for society, economy and planet?
Simon, 14
The first person we meet is Simon. Simon is 14 years old and lives with his parents, Erik and Danielle and his younger sister Lisa in a small town 30 minutes drive by autonomous car from Amsterdam. Simon dreams of being a policeman one day, someone who tracks cybercriminals who steal virtual assets, create deep fakes to trick people or who try to sabotage the simulated reality. He wants to be one of the many people who protect the core simulated reality everyday of internal and external threats. The first class today is live history. Natalie, his teacher is taking the school class today to ancient Rome in the time of Julius Caesar. Simon is inside the home of a Roman family together with his class as they learn to meet the members of the household. The Non Player Characters speak simple Latin sentences. Natalie freezes time and walks around to ask the class questions. Simon walks with his friends to the Forum Romanum and sees its beautiful architecture and the streets filled with merchants. Natalie tells about how this was the venue for public speeches, the center of commercial activities and the center of ancient Rome.
Simon quickly follows the link to his next class. John his teacher of social studies wants him to write an essay about discrimation. Simon’s class can choose to pick the avatar of a slave working on a cotton farm in 19th century US, a Jew in Germany at the start of the 20th century when Adolf Hitler rose in power, or a refugee on the run for climate change and war in the Middle East in early 21st century. A filter on the simulation removes the intense, shocking experiences of violence. Simon takes on the character of the Jewish boy in Berlin that is increasinlgy deprived of rights and access to certain places and writes about his experience. Ethics has become an important field of study. Children are taught early to view life through different perspectives, understanding and valuing each other views and differences better and avoiding the creation echo chambers of early social media platforms back in the 2020s.
Around noon Simon and his class have a long break. On his smart lens, Simon sees where his friends are and decides to meet them near the real school close to his real house. Simon asks his friends Peter and Jay if they wants to play soccer in the afternoon. They rush into the real class room just in time for the next class. Susan is one of these teachers who wants her students to be physically in the room. Fortunately she is a great storyteller. She explained how in the first half of the 21st century drastic measures had to be taken to reduce overconsumption, climate change, loss of biodiversity and habitat destruction. The Coronacrisis in 2020 was a turning point in what climate and social activists such as Naomi Klein and Kate Raworth had been writing about for years. The growth of humanity had to be brought in line with the finite resources of the planet while at the same time ensuring equal rights and opportunity. Susan explains the 6Ds of technological disruption. Through Digitization physical products Dematerized and can be accessed, shared and distributed at the speed of the internet. Digitization led to Disruption: Once people could start to stream music and video they stopped buying DVDs and CDs and today people rarely fly by plane anymore because they can travel to any location instantenously. As technology became cheaper, a multitude of services and experiences became virtually free: the economy increasingly Demonitized. And once something is digitized, more people can access it and this way powerful technology is no longer just for the government, large organizations or wealthy people but Democratized for all of us Susan concluded.
The last class of the day is world design. World design has replaced traditional craftmanship and drawing on the curriculum because the ability to create and customize the artificial reality has become a basic capability that everybody needs to know, just as people used to learn how to use computers with mouse and keyboard. Sue is a commerical world designer who designs tourist destinations and today joins Simon’s class. Creative designers with the skills to design open worlds are in high demand in the experience economy and Sue enjoys teaching. The class is in a large open studio that looks like a Star Trek holodeck with parallel lines against the walls, ceiling and floor. I would like you to design a treehouse for a garden, Sue tells to the class. You are free to use an existing library of objects and trees or design it from scratch, but your time is limited. I want you to meet the requirements of a treehouse but also put your creativity in. Simon uses his voice and hands to browse through a library of trees of different shapes and sizes. He picks a large oak tree and makes it look older, adds more leaves, then removes leaves and changes the type of leaves. Once he is done with the leaves he shapes using another tool the contours of the treehouse, he changes the texture of the outside of his treehouse to make it blend with the tree in one organic shape and then uses a procedural algorithm to transform his treehouse in a skyscraper tree. After one hour there are 16 different treehouses. Sue is impressed by what the students created and complements Simon.
Because Simon’s dad is late for his appointment to pick up Simon, his AI automatically sent an invite to Simon’s AI and the autonomous car network AI to bring Simon home safely and securely. Simon sees in augmented reality when and where the vehicle will stop. Simon is disappointed that again his dad is not physically there to pick him up but he sees him through his smart lens on the front seat of the car – at least he spent the time this time he thinks. After a short ride the car stops in front of the house and his mother opens the door asking how the day went. He talks about all the experiences of the day.
Aida, 29
Aida is 29 year old and single. Aida lives in Lagos, Nigeria, a megacity with over 40 million people. She likes shopping, sports, spending time with her friends and dreams of being a trendsetter, fashionista and famous influencer. She does not really have a job or much money but she does not really miss it. Aida wakes up early in the morning in her small room on the 23rd floor. She enters the simulated reality and finds herself in her luxury beach house with a beautiful view over the Atlantic Ocean. This evening she is going to an exclusive dance party on a yacht in front of the coast of the Malediven. She calls two of her friends Fatou and Alice. Fatou is a friend from high school but Alica who lives in South Africa she met two years ago in virtual. Fatou and Alice appears in the living room of her beach house. Aida tells about this exclusive party, Fatou and Alice are excited.
We can’t go to this event without a new cool outfit, Alice says. Where shall we go, says Fatou. Alice takes what looks like an old globe and spins it around. Pick a location she says. Alice clicks on New York City and a few seconds later they find themselves on Fifth Avenue surrounded by many other shoppers who visit the luxurious stores. Retail has drastically changed in Fifth Avenue. Instead of going to the store, the store comes to you for convenience shopping. If a lamp breaks down, it will show you where you can buy a new one for the cheapest price. The last time Aida went to a grocery store she cannot remember. In the early 21st century people did go to physical flagship stores for remarkable experiences but the cost and effort to keep up these physical locations did not win against the economies of scale and scope of true immersive experiences. Instead of selling physical fashion, the focus today is on virtual avatars and digital fashion in any shape, form or style that has ever been imagined. Luxury brands like Prada, Gucci and Burberry made the switch to virtual avatars and digital fashion and employ the best tailors to customize your fashion and even yourself. The girls walk inside the Prada store and watch amazed at how the inside is bigger than the outside. The floor and ceiling seem to converge kilometers away in the distance. A team of Prada NPCs approach the ladies and welcomes them. The social media profiles of the ladies are read and used to generate a personal store within the store just for them. Aida, Fatou and Alice first browse through the avatars to choose their bodies, face, color of their hair, then swipe through virtual dresses and adjust the make-up. They bookmark some of their favorites for later, they will instantly appear in their wardrobe at home. After a couple of hours they leave the store with amazing looking outfits and order a limousine to the airport.
Even though it is no longer necessary to travel, it is always interesting to see what is going on in simulated reality, this is why many people still walk, cycle, drive or travel by plane, boat from one place to another. Aida has chartered a supersonic private airplane that is ready on the runway. The crew NPCs welcome the ladies on board and take their seats. Destination is Hanimaadhoo says Aida to the pilot and a few moments later they take off, seeing New York City disappear from their view. The plane quickly accelerates and when they hit the sound barrier Alice takes the cocktail shacker from the refridgerator and pours in three drinks. The ladies toast on the wonderful day. In reality, the three woman take a sip from a glass with water but in the simulated reality it tastes, smells and looks like a cold Long Island Ice Tea. Aida tells her AI to store the memory and post it on TikTok that now supports true immersion. Aida does not have a real or virtual job but has a universal income and gets credits from fashion brands like Prada by sharing memories with her followers. The girls break from the simulation to grab something to eat but agree to meet back at 13:00 in the airplane. While she is eating peanut soup with some bread, Aida scrolls through some other TikTok memories. Flying over the clouds of Venus, a tank battle in Call of Duty, a day in the life of a cat – that is interesting, what would it like to be cat, she bookmarks the memory to see if she can try it some other time.
At 13:01 the Aida teleports into the airplane where Fatou, Alice and also Jennifer have joined. Jennifer had some other appointment in the morning. A few minutes later they see Hanimaadhoo island appear below the clouds and prepare for landing. Alice insisted on not skipping the landing so the stewardess NPC explains to buckle their seat belts and the pilot welcomes them to the Malediven. The yacht is in the harbour and the three girls board the yacht. For the exclusive party only 200 people were invited, Aida was lucky to get 4 tickets so Jennifer can also join. What they don’t know is that 2356 similar exclusive parties are running in parallel. The DJ starts playing and the girls hit the dance floor on helicopter pad. Aida bought some dance moves with the avatar. She winks at one of the guys at the bar and they start to dance. You look great he says to her and they get to talk for a long time. Aida takes him to one of the cabin and she pulls of her virtual clothes, opens a bottle of champagne and they have sex under the sky. Her avatar has a special skin that is extra sensitive and worked really well, exhausted they fall asleep. She wakes up with no hangover in the morning alone in her apartment, takes off her lenses and takes a shower wondering what happend to her friends last night…
Oliver, 45
Oliver is 45 years, married and has two daughters. Oliver lives in Munich, Germany and works in the University Hospital of Ludwig Maximillian as a surgeon. Even though healthcare has shifted more towards prevention and remote patient monitoring at home to reduce the stay in hospitals, specialized healthcare is still provided by hospitals, experienced staff and advanced technology. At 5 am Oliver wakes up for the day shift in the university hospital. After a quick shower and a cup of coffee he walks into his garage and picks up his glasses on his way. As he enters his garage he scrolls through the car library. Bugatti Venyron from 2005, 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, or his BMW series of 2020. He decides to pick the Bugatti and swipes through the color palette and decides to go for the black one. As he approaches the car, the door opens and he sits in the car. The dashboard, the look and feel of the interior, all the details match with the supercar. Fully autonomous electric cars do not require assistance, but Oliver likes the driver mode in combination with the VR interior and exterior skins. As he drives off to work he hears the roaring sound of the engine. At 6:35 he arrives in front of the hospitals and steps out, the car drives off to the parking lot.
As he enters the hospital the reads through his agenda. His day starts like always with his staff meeting at 7 am. As he enters the room he sees that some of his colleagues are virtually sitting around the conference table whereas others are present with him reality. Anna discusses with Oliver that a number of standard surgerical procedures is planned between 8 and 10. University students are watching over your shoulders so please explain what you do and let them feel what you feel she tells him. Oliver looks forward to the appointment he has at 10:30 with the university research team that he was worked closely with a nano surgery tech company. Even with micro surgery he has to cut through healthy tissue in order to expose the internal organs to be operated on. Due to advances in virtual reality and robotics, the tech company promises Oliver the ability see the individual cancer cells of a tumor and direct nanobots to these cells.. As soon as he clicks on the link, he is joined by two members of his team who explain the possibilities of the new technology. Oliver feels like AntMan with his newly discovered superpower to shrink to the size of individual cells. The tools feel less precise and not as responsive as in the real world, but it is impressive what it can do.
At noon, he exits the simulated reality to have lunch with Eric, a colleague and close friend that is working in the same hospital. While Eric orders a hamburger with a cola, Oliver is on a diet and orders a simple salad and glass of water. For Oliver it tastes like a Caesar’s salad with mayonaise, mustard, eggs and cheese and a lemon soda with sugar – but without the calories. Oliver mails his AntMan memory to Eric during lunch. On his way back, a message from the grocery AI appears in his field of view asking him to confirm the food selection for tonight’s barbeque. He makes a few changes and swaps some vegetables with fish and meat – the AI becomes somewhat angry and says he should find some else to do the shopping if he wants to stay healthy. Oliver ignores her and places the order.
After lunch, he goes back into his office to see some patients at home. When he started as assistant, patients always had to make appointment in the hospitals. Now he often visits patients at home for a first session or return visits after a procedure. People feel more at ease and relaxed and can much better plan and organize their day. It also makes the hospital more effective and efficient because there is less space needed for visitors and less traffic in the corridors. Oliver clicks on the first link his AI has scheduled in his agenda. His first patient is 86 years old and is back home recovering from a cardiac surgery one month ago. The patient monitoring app gives Oliver superhero perception abilities: Patient sensor data is automatically projected to Oliver who can see or feel where the patient has pain and how his patient’s wound is healed. General practioners and other doctors use the same app for patient data and can share knowledge.
At 16:00 his day ends and he calls his car. He looks forwarded to disconnect for a couple of hours and have an old fashioned barbeque in his garden. After a few minutes his car stops in front of the hospital and he steps in. This time he takes a small detour to do some cycling in his car while the car is driving to his house. He chooses a scenic route through the hills near the place where he grew up and starts his exercise. When the car parks itself in his garage, he exits the workout and throws off his glasses. Elsa kisses him and asks how his day was. Did the food arrive on time? “Yes, I have placed the meat it in the refridgerator and I already prepared some nice salads with Hanna. Light up the barbeque!”
Elisa, 40
Elsa is 40 years old and married to Oliver. Elsa studied at the art academy at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London and she met Oliver during one of the virtual planet tour she designed and guided 12 years ago. 10 years ago Oliver and her bought an appartment in Berlin and recently they moved to Munich because of the promotion Oliver made. Elsa is an independent world designer and gives tourist tours through her own creations. Before she had a stressful job to design massive open worlds for a game studio in London but when she moved to Berlin she quit her job. Not because of the travelling – the distance between Berlin and London is less than a second today – but because she missed the social and fun aspect to explore her own creations. She always had a fascination for history and ancient civilizations and combines this now with her creativity to shape entire planets with land, hills and mountains, water, clouds complete with alien plant and animal life and ancient ruins, remains of spacecraft and stories of superintelligent civilizations. She calls herself a xenohistorian tourist guide. The past year she worked on the history of a great spacefaring civilization that had colonized worlds throughout the galaxy but that had gone extinct millenia ago. She designed a plot in which the tourists slowly discover that not everything is as it seems and that their lives are in danger when they make an important discovery and must find a way to escape. Today is the second day of the cruise.
20 ‘xenohistorians’ paid for an all-inclusive holiday in a luxurious hotel in their own cities around the world. Yesterday they boarded the Endurance exploration spaceship and got to know each other and learned about the Varu civilization. In the afternoon they made the jump to hyperspace and are about to arrive in the distant Umal system some 12 million light years from Earth at 8:45 CEST time. Elsa logs in after she brought her kids to school and appears in the cockpit of the Endurance. She walks out to the main observation deck and greets the fellow travels. Today we are going to visit what many believe was a major trading colony of the old Varu empire. Follow me to the shuttle that will take us to surface! As they enter the planet’s atmosphere, Elsa starts to tell. The Umal-5 planet is a waterworld and we believe that the Varu lived deep in the oceans where they created huge cities that almost reached to the surface. We are going to see some amazing pieces of architecture and aquascaping today as we dive with a submarine to these underwater ruins, ride giant seahorses that are unique to Umal-5 and spent plenty of time to swim and relax at the shores during the day. But be careful: Before the evening sets in we must have returned to our spaceship because at night the Umadactyls become active to hunt for whales.
Tourism and travel drastically changed in the second half of the 21st century. Physical travel became increasingly expensive as more people started to view true simulated reality as better than the real. Tourists planning a beach holidays no longer had to worry about the weather because the sun would always shine at their destination. Long flight durations, waiting at airports for the connecting flight, the anxiety of missing a connecting flight or take off and landing all became a thing of the past. In the early 21st century people would go on holiday a few times a year, but today some people would visit places several time a day in nanoholidays. Everybody could afford to travel anywhere on Earth as much as you wanted without any impact on the climate, but it did not stop there. World designers like Elsa imagined and created travel experiences to destinations in space and time that not even the richest people on the planet could afford and defied the laws of physics. Hotels and resorts focused more on hospitality and catering for people living close by to help them escape and relax for longer periods of time.
At the end of the morning, Elsa takes the submarine back to surface and tells her guests they can swim and look around themselves if they want. Nobody has really yet figured out exactly how to recreate the experience of swimming so the guests wear their true reality suit and glasses as they jump in the swimming pool of their hotel and suddently find themselves in the waters of Umal-5. Elsa has no swimming pool in her study but checks if all the safety checks are ok and all her guests are safe. The simulation will automatically exit otherwise. Personal physical safety overrules all other rules and violating these rules is a crime. Elsa receives an incoming message from the grocery store. Oliver has ordered a few barbeque dishes for the evening and the delivery will arrive at their home in 5 minutes. She moves the travel simulation to the background and the grocery app to the foreground as she walks down the stairs and opens the door. She places the dishes in the refridgerator and she answers a few questions from her guests in the simulation as she takes a few sandwitches and prepares lunch.
Two hours later, Elsa is also mentally present again and starts to talk about the Varu shrine they are going to visit next. They will ride the seahorses she created for fun and after half an hour they arive and see the beautiful shrine in the distance. Elsa pretends as if she finds a new clue, something nobody has seen before and invites the xenohistorians to work together to solve the puzzle to a new destination. They cannot solve it, but her guests love the puzzle she created and she is happy that she is pulling her guests deeper into the plot. After a few hours of puzzling and speculation, they head back to the shuttle to return to the spacecraft in low orbit. As they sit and have dinner on the observation deck they see the huge Umadactyls flying in swarms over the oceans, a beautiful sight. The guests are having a 3 course dinner in the restaurant but through their glasses the food on their plates looks, sounds, feels native to the Umal-5 planet.
Elsa excuses herself at the start of the dinner and says goodbye. Tomorrow they will continue their journey in search of what happened to the Varu. She puts her glasses on her desk and is just in time to see Oliver arrive home for the barbeque.
Naomi, 84
The last person we meet is Naomi. Naomi is 84 years old and lives in a her appartment in Osaka. Naomi’s husband with whom she was married almost 60 years died more than 5 years ago. 1 year ago she had a cerebral hemorrhage that left her partially parallized but it could have been much worse and she often thinks of the extra time she has been given. She enjoys to see her grandchildren play, relive old memories and walk in the park in the mornings. In the morning when she wakes up she puts up her glasses and prepares some steamed rice and miso soup, as the soup is almost ready she is reminded to take two pills. She dissolves the two pills in the soup and sits on the table. The Kyoto newspaper appears on the table and she reads the headlines and sees the photos come to life. Every day at 8:00 am she is joining two of her neighbors for a walk in the park.
Naomi falls asleep in the bullet train to Tokyo and when she wakes up she is in her appartment in Osaka again. She takes a glass and pours in some sake and then pulls an old fashioned, real book from her ancient bookcase..
