We are but cells among the Earth’s being; constantly expanding we grow with the world. Earth is our home and we’ve customized it to suit our humanistic needs since the very first thought. Life has come to be one filled with convenience; everything is quick, easy, and painful-less, I mean painless.
On a recent excursion to Canada I tripped on déjà vu while walking through the Underground City in Montreal. I saw ‘Underground City’ and thought, “Alright, something like Penn station.” Nope; it was literally an underground city from the depths of an elegant futuristic lifestyle. Little did I know I had just walked into the ‘World’s Largest Underground Complex’. Shit! This mall; this village; this mini-city has its own neighborhoods. I’m pretty sure one could live within the 5 square miles of this never-ending shopping spree and never have to go outside. Hah! That brings me to my idea of the future; currently becoming the past.
(In Time)
The way I see it is, while civilization is constantly increasing in population through thick and thin, we are still searching for an alternate planet to infest. I’m not going to lie; the little we know about this planet would not entice me to call home to another, even more mysterious ground.
So for now, let’s assume we aren’t going to be infiltrating another planet any time soon (a.k.a. next 200 years). Where would everyone go; farmlands? I doubt it. How about up? Well isn’t that where we intend to go anyway? Of course; the cities will definitely expand with faster transportation on the rise, but they will also get taller. With bigger skyscrapers comes more stores, more floors for businesses to sell more shit through all those stores, and homes.
That’s all we need right? No, but we will ignorantly succumb to the commercial pocketeers. Imagine, for instance, you lived in one of the many apartments above the Underground City.
Let’s also say you have a job as the Rolex store manager.
Hmmm, your girlfriend also lives in an apartment in the Underground City, but in a different building.
All within this underground virus of marketing and lavish splendor.
You’d never have to leave.
Everything is easily provided for you in an enclosed and (here’s the keyword) controlled environment. You have your whole around you, surrounded in reflective glass to appear expansive. I mean you could get on the subway and take it to the train station where you proceed to hop on a train headed to the few rural areas left.
But who’d want to do that when there are almost a dozen food courts, public fountains of grandeur, children laughing, and warmth?
Canada’s brisk climate conditions make this underground storrest ever so more appealing. What I see is the extreme becoming normal; a rare abundance. One city designs a prodigious and warm living environment; then all cities want them unnecessarily. Even worse, they feel they need them. Life is full of luxuries and luxuries are just amplified needs feeding off green ideals. The rich want what the poor can’t have and the poor have what many rich cannot. It’s a really interesting concept. Either way, I see ourselves expanding all over into these whole environments that will completely encase our lives.
Ah, the sweet cloudiness of my childhood memories fading in… I (still) have a puzzle poster from my younger days that depicts an entire skyscraper soaring in the clouds. What’s interesting is this skyscraper encompasses an entire city with everything a modern product junkie could desire. Shopping malls, restaurants, apartments, houses and even streets. Yeah, this one even has gas stations and mechanic shops to accompany the bustle of motor vehicles. An entire world almost; all within the confines of one building. That is where I see things going in city regions.
It would be cruel to imagine how the world would be if every portion of land was consumed by skyscraper cities.
Wonder what that would look like from space…
There stands a great chance that countries will become more fearful of each other; fear like the porcupine says, “Makes me want to stab you.” Thus, countries might employ large surface area domes to keep people safe; may it be from nuclear fallout or the cycles of the Earth’s atmosphere (some call it Global Warming).
So there it is; all habitats will be inter-connected, controlled and artificial societies design with convenience in mind. Doesn’t sound much different does it? We’ll see. Just don’t take the ‘freedoms’ for granted now because time will provide us more ‘liberties’, but always at the cost of privacy and security.
Hmmm, everything will be connected? Maybe that is the ignorance of humankind.
We put ourselves through subconscious destructive missions to teach ourselves the truths in the world; the mysteries are in our head right next to the answers. Only in theory; more next week!
Listening to Tiesto’s Elements of Life album.
I think you may have fallen into the science fiction writer trap on underground cities. This is something Isaac Asimov thought would be quite commonplace today. While we do have a few underground complexes I am unsure we will actually burrow down unless we actually have a need to. There has to be some really straightforward catastrophe that makes it nearly impossible for us to sustain our lives above ground. While I think we do live more sedentary lives there is also a movement (as far as I can tell) to maximize that time we have outside or with others for that matter. I think that will continue to refine itself in the years to come. Our society is constantly becoming more efficient, and while we spend less time outside today I don’t think we’re going to give it up. I will say though that if the health of our own bodies is any indication we are becoming more susceptible to pretty commonplace diseases. I wonder if our bodies will evolve into being “inside bodies”. What are the statistics of asthma these days? While we do live in a world with more impurities in the air from what I read we’re also doing it to ourselves. By being inside so much the outside itself has become dangerous. Our bodies are too ‘babied’ for lack of a better term.
I think you may have fallen into the science fiction writer trap on underground cities. This is something Isaac Asimov thought would be quite commonplace today. While we do have a few underground complexes I am unsure we will actually burrow down unless we actually have a need to. There has to be some really straightforward catastrophe that makes it nearly impossible for us to sustain our lives above ground. While I think we do live more sedentary lives there is also a movement (as far as I can tell) to maximize that time we have outside or with others for that matter. I think that will continue to refine itself in the years to come. Our society is constantly becoming more efficient, and while we spend less time outside today I don’t think we’re going to give it up. I will say though that if the health of our own bodies is any indication we are becoming more susceptible to pretty commonplace diseases. I wonder if our bodies will evolve into being “inside bodies”. What are the statistics of asthma these days? While we do live in a world with more impurities in the air from what I read we’re also doing it to ourselves. By being inside so much the outside itself has become dangerous. Our bodies are too ‘babied’ for lack of a better term.