#speculative future

Oh boy.  So, this would probably take place in early Year Two, so spoilers?

HYPER-REALITY by Keiichi Matsuda

Hyper-Reality presents a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media.

By 2104, humans are no longer the same beings they were 80 years ago. The combined crises of climate change, resource scarcity, and extreme reliance on digital technology have reshaped our bodies and minds. This future isn’t just about new technologies but about how humans have evolved to survive a radically altered planet.

The New Human Form: Adaptation Through Extinction

As the natural world around us dwindled, so did many of our conventional resources. The extinction of familiar foods, the scarcity of fresh water, and the collapse of ecosystems have forced our bodies to adapt in ways we could have never imagined.

🍽️ Food Extinction and Digestive Changes

By the 2080s, traditional agriculture became almost impossible due to severe climate shifts. With soil degradation and the collapse of pollinator species, natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and meat became scarce. In response:

Digestive Shrinkage: The human digestive system has become smaller and more efficient. We no longer consume solid foods in the way we used to. Instead, synthetic nutrient solutions and lab-grown food gels are the primary sources of sustenance. The stomach, once a large organ designed to break down varied foods, has shrunk, evolving to process these pre-digested, nutrient-dense substances quickly.

Loss of Taste and Appetite: As food became standardized and artificial, the human sense of taste dulled. The pleasure of eating, once a significant part of life, has diminished. Most people now consume for necessity rather than enjoyment, relying on AI-recommended nutrient packs based on real-time health data.

Physical Appearance: Humans are slimmer, with less body fat. The caloric intake is optimized, leading to leaner physiques. Muscle mass is maintained through electrical muscle stimulation rather than physical exercise, as most labor is automated.

💧 Water Scarcity and Dehydration Resistance

With freshwater sources dwindling, humans had to evolve:

Dehydration Adaptation: The body has become more efficient at retaining water. Sweat glands have reduced in number, making the human body less prone to sweating. Our kidneys have become more efficient at filtering and recycling water, minimizing waste.

Skin Changes: Human skin has become thicker and slightly waxy, designed to minimize moisture loss. The skin's texture is smoother but feels more like a protective membrane, evolved to withstand harsher UV rays and the arid conditions of a hotter Earth.

🏠 Housing and Physical Space Evolution

The disappearance of natural resources has transformed how and where humans live:

Adaptation to Smaller Spaces: As urbanization increased and space became limited, the human form adapted to a more compact lifestyle. People are generally shorter, with a smaller frame, making it easier to navigate confined spaces and consume fewer resources.

Sedentary Adaptation: The rise of virtual living means people move less in their physical environment. Legs and feet are less muscular, and the skeletal structure has evolved for comfort in sitting or lying down, as standing for long periods is less common.

🧠 Education and Cognitive Shifts

With knowledge instantly accessible via neural implants, the human brain has undergone significant changes:

Reduced Memory Capacity: The reliance on AI for information storage has caused a decline in human memory. The brain no longer needs to retain vast amounts of knowledge, as everything can be accessed on demand. Instead, the brain has adapted to excel in pattern recognition and creative problem-solving, the last strongholds of human cognition.

Decreased Attention Span: Constant digital stimulation has shortened the human attention span. People struggle to focus for extended periods, and tasks are designed to be brief and immediately rewarding, catering to this new cognitive pattern.

⚕️ Healthcare and the New Human Body

Human healthcare is now centered on preventative measures and body augmentation:

Integrated Biotech: Tiny biotech implants and nanobots circulate through the bloodstream, constantly monitoring health and making adjustments in real time. This has led to a decline in the human immune system's natural strength, as artificial immunity has taken over.

Cyborg Evolution: Physical enhancements are common. Many people have bionic limbs or sensory upgrades, like enhanced vision or hearing. The boundary between human and machine is blurred, and the human form now includes metal, plastic, and synthetic tissue as much as flesh and bone.

🌍 Environmental Impact and Physical Adaptation

The effects of climate change have reshaped the human body:

Heat Adaptation: Humans are now more resistant to extreme temperatures. The body has adapted to maintain a stable internal temperature despite external heat, thanks to changes in metabolism and genetic engineering for heat resistance.

Air Pollution Resilience: Lungs have evolved to filter out fine particulate matter. City dwellers have developed stronger respiratory systems, and many have artificial lung enhancements to help process polluted air.

🏳️‍🌈 Social Changes and Gender Fluidity

The evolution of social norms and technology has reshaped human identity:

Gender Fluidity: Biological gender distinctions are less emphasized, as hormonal modifications and gene therapy allow people to transition seamlessly between genders. The human body has adapted to be more androgynous, with features that can easily be enhanced or minimized based on personal choice.

Self-Expression: Physical appearance is now seen as highly customizable. People can change their skin color, hair texture, and body shape at will using biotech enhancements, making the concept of a "fixed" human form obsolete.

♿ Accessibility and New Human Abilities

In a world where the human body has merged with technology:

Enhanced Senses: People with disabilities are often given superhuman abilities through implants and neural enhancements. Blind individuals can "see" through echolocation devices, while those with mobility issues use exoskeletons that enhance strength.

Universal Communication: Neural interfaces have made verbal language almost obsolete. People communicate directly through thought-to-text transmission, bypassing the need for spoken words.

🌱 Sustainability and Human Ecology

The human body has adapted to be part of a closed-loop system:

Biodegradable Implants: Most biotech enhancements are designed to be biodegradable, reducing the waste produced by human bodies.

Symbiotic Relationships: Humans now host a variety of engineered microorganisms that help with digestion, air purification, and even energy production. These tiny symbionts help maintain the body in environments where traditional resources are scarce.

Final Thoughts: The Fragile Balance of Humanity

Knowledge Navigator (1987), Apple

Where in the hell do I plan to be after college? Well let’s see, with the world as it stands right now to be honest I’m not too sure. I know that after college my biggest goal is to become an elementary school teacher and as it looks right now I’m not entirely sure how our world will look so I’m going to make something up because that’s just the kind of writer I am.

The year is 2030 and our country is no longer being run by someone who is considered to be an American version of Adolf Hitler, instead we are being governed by RuPaul who was born with the name Andre Charles and there would be peace between our countries and our economy would be thriving, people like me in the lower class would be able to provide for their families on a single income instead of living from paycheck to paycheck. I am a first grade teacher and have been for the last four years with not two but now three beautiful children who will never have to worry about the world around them and will never want for anything. I am running for senate in order to help President Charles keep our country running smoothly. Our teenagers and children will no longer depend on technology as they have in recent years because the world will finally be better than the worlds they create on the internet, yes of course there will still be crime but it will be much easier for police and they will be far more efficient then they have been because our advances in technology will help them identify perps faster and make it easier to catch the true suspects. We will become more reliant on nature, instead of mass producing food products the way we have been, and people will learn to hunt and scavenge again and some of our natural resource will thrive once more because we will be able to stop polluting our world and because we will finally understand how important our fantastic planet is, we will have cured cancer and any other terminal diseases. Yes, our future looks bright and you may see this as just pipe dream but I am hoping it’ll be much more than just a dream I’m hoping this is how our country and even our world will be.

As it stands right now our future is looking dim, our president is a tyrant and we are taking our planet for granted, so what if some of my ideas are unrealistic and who gives a shit if I seem crazy, at least I’m hoping for us to learn from our mistakes and fix our world so that we don’t have to worry about fear any more, right now I worry about the future my babies will grow up in and I’m fucking tired of worrying about how to get a job that will pay me enough to survive and not be homeless. At this very moment as I write this essay, my family is staying with my daughter’s god mother because even with one income we cannot find an apartment or any sort of living arrangement the we could even come close to affording. I am tired of not having our voices heard by the very leaders who swear on a Bible, that they will do what is best for our country and then turn around and screw us over because the power has gone to their heads and they choose to not give a damn about the country they swore to protect. If this is the future that we are coming in to than I don’t want to live here anymore because one day we are going to find ourselves digging our own graves because we have beyond fucked our world up.