Today we are going to do something different. We will play a little game of “What If”. Just one simple rule. We must think of something not quite happen in this century, but a little bit closer to the reality. And hopefully, every “What If” will lead you to some deep thoughts.
[1]
One day I was having my regular visit to my aunt’s place and somehow we talked about feminism in ancient China. Of course I am aware of the Chinese term “Three Follow” (direct translation) but was not sure its real meaning. And she enlightened me.
- To follow [i.e. obey] your father at home (before married)
- To follow your husband when you are married
- To follow your son when you are old (widowed)
That pretty much conclude a woman’s life back in ancient China (or does it still happen now?) It kind of made a strike on my mind. As the handle is spinning towards the other extreme nowadays, we may have :-
- To follow your mother at home
- To follow your wife when you are married
- To follow your daughter when you are divorced
What if the above hypotheses happen in the coming future and become the general phenomenon?
Been browsing one 63 pages article by Ellen Spertus (MIT Computer Scientist), titled “Why are there so few female computer scientists?”. One research on biological differences showed that men tend to have superior spatial ability, while women have superior verbal ability. Then again, the article claimed that the social bias influenced mankind begin in childhood (sexual stereotype) like the different kinds of toys that are given to boys and girls when they were young. However, the article stresses the point that the interplay between biological and social influences is not yet understood
What if, starting from the next generation, girls are given masculine toys while boys are given feminine toys like dolls to play with? Or shall we have some “neutral” toys? Think about it.
[2]
What if one day you find that you have been working too hard, long for a holiday, walk along the street and spot the following advertisement outside your favorite travel agency?
- 5 days trip to Italy
- 10 days US holiday
- Space Disneyland
What? Space Disneyland?
So you enter and make an inquiry. A friendly staff explains to you that this package comprises of :-
- One year unlimited number of entry to Space Disneyland
- One return ticket from your nearest Space Station to Moon
- 30 nights stay at one of the many Disneyland Lunar Hotels
- Space food provided
- Unlimited supply of Oxygen when you are there, on the way there and on the way back
- Insurance covered from Day One
So you ask if the package covers everything you need and she suggested that you should at least acquire the following things.
- A visa to Moon
- Transportation from your doorway to the Space Station
- Space Suit not provided so you have to rent one
- A whole lot of Space Accessories required like Space Suitcase, Space Water Bottle and so on
- Get some Lunar Currency as some of the attractions in Space Disneyland are not included in the standard package. (Like the Space Disco and Red Light Lunar District)
- Pills for Space Sick.
What a nice “What If”, isn’t it?
[3]
This is one of my favorite. Some of my friends have heard about it but I just have to go through it once again.
What if the statistic today (1997) shows that AIDS is the number one killing disease and we have not reached the Plastic Age yet assuming that missing or skipping the Plastic Age has no great impact to our world and technology (hence everything stays pretty much the same)?
Just think about it. That means condom, is yet to be or never will be invented. What will happen to the general morality of humanity? What will happen to the profession of prostitution.
I always have the following hallucination.
In the world of darkness. In the world of fear. A killing disease has infected many mankind as we have slowly slipped towards the base of the Death of Pyramid. A group of elite, armed with the most advance AIDS detecting machine, emerged. They called themselves (not Judge Dread) the Federal Anti-AIDS Group (FAG). Their noble task is to identify the Virus Carriers and tattoo the non-erasable phrase “AIDS Victim” on their chests, backs and gender areas. It was a good intention so as to prevent any more people from contracting this virus but had somehow set the whole nation in chaos. Raping rate shot up and there was a lot of violent outbreak.
What a horrible nightmare!
[4]
If any of you can invent something that comprises of the following elements, you could be very rich. Set aside the contribution you are going to make to the entire world.
- Look cool when used
- Has the effect of relax, stress release and enhance the generation of idea or inspiration
- Pleasant and social friendly
- Good for health (not necessary)
- Can be taken as a habit and fit into a pocket
What if a substitute of cigarette is found? One thing for sure is that the cigarette companies will try all means in order to prevent it from happening and your income tax (or others) will go up as the government can no longer sustain without the fat cigarette tax. One last thing is, you could be very rich.
[5]
What if all the endangered species have extinct today? This left only the domestic pets and those mean to be eaten. (Why cockroach can never be endangered at all?) What impact will it make to our day to day work or life in general?
Of course our animal lovers will be very depressed. But our life is so dry and human orientated that such a disaster will probably have no impact at all. Quite a few people who spend their life saving those endangered species will lose their job. Our modern dictionary will have lesser vocabularies and we have lesser words to memorize. I mean who can actually tell me all the different species of dinosaur?
But one good suggestion is that those who have lost their job due to our indifference and selfishness can gather together and open an “Extinct Species Museum”.
[6]
Warning to the readers. This one is quite gross and scary, so please feel free to skip it.
A redefinition of the Meaning of Life. What if our world becomes like this?
As technology advanced, scientists are now able to select those sperms and eggs who will contribute a healthy and smart living being. Whether all the babies are “generated” using test tube technology or a living synthetic machine, it depends on your level of imagination.
And there is one rule in this nation. All human beings are only allowed to live up to a predefined age, say 45. When one reaches that age, he or she will be “terminated” or probably organically recycled. We may have the following drastic changes in our society.
- It may be more logic to quote the age as the number of years to termination. Something like a countdown.
- As your future is predictable, you may think and behave very differently. Perhaps you may treasure life in a more active way.
- Plenty of time to plan for your termination.
- Love between men and women may takes in a different shape. To make this system more interesting, married couples may choose to be terminated at the same time, provided that the rule (of a predefined age) is not violated.
This could be a very good novel material.
Hope all these “What If” have given you something to think about. Remember to let your imagination to run wild once in a while.
World Wide Wilf Interactive System (WWWIS)
Bonus Piece
Conversation overheard between a married couple.
He : Hi honey, you are back.
She : Yeah. A very long and tiring day.
He : How’s work?
She : As usual. My boss wasn’t in a good mood tonight. She was very upset the whole morning.
He : Really?
She : And my secretary, he’s just not capable at all. How about you?
He : Well, I went to do some shopping and they are selling the cereal in special price. Been cleaning up the place and ironing all the clothes the whole day.
She : I love you. Can’t live without you. Have you put the kids to bed?
He : Yes, I have. Before that, we were surfing the Net. Guess what, they asked me what does a Whale looks like and I have absolutely no idea. They are ancient, you know. So we try to search a picture from the Net.
She : Really. What is a Whale by the way?
He : A very large fish I think. And the last one was eaten by the Japanese.
She :
Listen, honey. I know I have been ignoring you lately. That’s work, you know? And I plan for our second honeymoon.
He : How nice? Where?
She : The Space Disneyland.
He : Oh, I am frightened. I’ve never taken a Space Shuttle before.
She : That’s nothing. I’ve had a few conferences there before.
He : By the way, have you noticed that our neighbor has disappeared lately?
She : I think so, why?
He : He was terminated.
She : Oh. How about his wife?
He : Apparently his wife found another man and decided not to be terminated prematurely.
She : I see. By the way, don’t get out of this house if not necessary.
He : Okay. Why?
She : Apparently the FAG are everywhere and this whole town is in chaos. Can’t believe that I am being checked twice today! I am worry about you. It’s not safe out there.
Do you like this scenario at all?