Chapter 32: The State of The World
Earth, 2042.
This year was not really a remarkable year among the many across human history at first glance. It had all the usual traits, the typical shocking celebrity deaths that crumbled the lives of the fans that adored them, the internet-breaking reveals of scandals and immorality of some rich celebrity who seemed nice, and the occasional proxy war here and there initiated by the same two culprits.
The world by this time had changed greatly, with technology making a great leap forward. Electric cars were becoming more mainstream as coal and oil began to fall behind, with the moguls who owned these enterprises finally shifting over to nuclear power - albeit unwillingly - and opting to peddle power instead.
The rise of the value of electricity and the creation of more powerful technology like glass phones, AI-operated appliances like washing machines, cookers, dishwashers, and more meant that the demand for power was rising in the average household.
Now, even the simple home Personal Computer that could subsist on 500 watts of power in the power supply unit now had a minimum requirement of 3000 watts for what was considered 'potato' computers in this age, a direct increase of six times!
Arms race? Hah, that was of the old era. Now the world was locked in a power race, with each party seeking ways to improve power generation and especially to achieve the still elusive nuclear fusion technology. Any country or private entity that achieved this would immediately come out ahead of all others, but would also bear the greed of all other powers as they covetously looked on.
Since around 2035, there was a rise of VR technology, especially FIVR, Fully Immersive Virtual Reality. Of course, this rise did not refer to the technology actually coming into play, but rather than the desire for it rose as basic VR technology advanced farther and farther.
As early as the beginning of the 21st century, many tech enthusiasts had dreamed about FIVR, with even multiple pieces of era-defining fiction being created around the idea that pushed the desire down to the common man. This desire had been simmering since then and completely boiled over in 2035.
Keith Lunin, a PhD in Computer Science who started a small company called "Online Utopia", had announced to the world that preliminary testing was successful on their nascent FIVR technology, allowing the brain to fully interact with digital technology!