2024-2120

by Russell Fine

They went to dinner and Albert spent most of the time listening to Lisa and Susan talk about the times they had lived together. Susan invited Lisa to the wedding and Lisa happily accepted the invitation.

  When Albert and Susan got back to their room there was a message from the concierge that said all the travel arrangements had been made and the guests would all be there by Saturday evening.

  ***

  All of the guests arrived although, Tim and his family arrived early Saturday afternoon. Albert thought about going to meet him at the airport but decided against it. De Gaulle Airport was too big to try to meet somebody without prior planning. Tim told him they would get a car and drive in themselves and to not worry about him, that they could see some sights on the drive. So, he and Susan spent the afternoon in their room talking about what they should do for their honeymoon.

  Tim arrived at 4:00. He and Albert shook hands and Susan walked over and kissed Tim on the cheek. Then Tim reached into his pocket and removed an envelope, which he handed to Albert.

  “What’s this?” Albert asked.

  “It’s your honeymoon plan. Open it,” Tim said smiling. “It’s the least I can do. After all, without you, I would not be where I am today.

  Inside the envelope were boarding passes for a cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii and French Polynesia, returning to San Francisco. It was a twenty-eight-day cruise and Tim had arranged for them to have a suite. The cruise was scheduled to depart the Friday after the wedding. Albert and Susan both smiled and Albert said, “We were just talking about our honeymoon plans. Thank you, Tim.” Then Albert put his arm around Tim and said, “We didn’t know what to do, other than staying in Paris for a while. This is really terrific.”

  “That deserves another kiss,” Susan said, and she kissed Tim a second time.

  “There should have been a note in your room telling you about the plans for Monday. Was it there?” Albert asked.

  “Yes, I think that’s a great idea. None of us have been to Paris before and I think a city

  tour would be perfect.”

  “It includes a six-hour tour of the Louvre and dinner at the Eiffel Tower. We’re looking forward to it too.”

  They talked for about an hour and made plans to meet for breakfast at 9:30 Sunday morning. Then Tim went back to his room.

  ***

  The next few days went by quickly and before they knew it, the day of the wedding had arrived. That morning at breakfast they decided to give each other rings during the ceremony, so as soon as they were finished they went to a jeweler a few blocks from the hotel and purchased two simple gold bands. The jeweler promised to have them sized and delivered to the hotel by one o’clock.

  The hotel had arranged to have a minister from a nearby church perform the ceremony. The minister called Albert at two o’clock and asked if he could meet with him and Susan an hour prior to the wedding. The wedding was scheduled for seven, and at six o’clock the minister arrived at their room. After the introductions, the minister asked what kind of ceremony they wanted, and they spent a few minutes talking about it. Albert and Susan wanted something simple and informal. The minister agreed and suggested that they arrive at the room at ten minutes after seven so that everyone would be seated and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

  Both Albert and Susan were dressed casually, and they asked their guests to do the same. They arrived at the room where the wedding was to be held a few minutes early. The door was closed so they waited until 7:10 to enter the room. There were surprised to see a videographer waiting for them as they walked in. They posed for a few pictures and then walked up to the minister who was standing at the front of the room. The guests were seated around one large table and they all stood up and applauded as Albert and Susan walked past them. The service was short, only about ten minutes. When it was completed Albert and Susan kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Then they sat down at the table with the other guests and had a meal created by the best of gourmet chefs in the area.

  On Wednesday morning Albert and Susan flew to San Francisco and stayed at a hotel near the cruise terminal. Friday afternoon they went to the terminal to board their ship. Neither of them had ever taken a cruise before and they were looking forward to it.

  Because they were booked into a suite, Albert and Susan bypassed the long check-in lines and were personally escorted to their cabin. It was much larger than they had expected. There was a large bedroom, a spacious living room, and a full bath. There was also a large balcony overlooking the sea and it could be accessed from either the living room or the bedroom. After Albert looked around and said, “Wow! I really wasn’t expecting this. I’m not going to have a problem spending the next month here!”

  Susan replied, “I agree, this is much bigger than my first apartment.”

  The first five days of the cruise were spent at sea, crossing the Pacific Ocean on the way to Honolulu. Susan and Albert spent most of the time in their room enjoying each other’s company. And, like most people on cruises, they spent a lot of time eating. Because they were somewhat famous, they also were invited to have dinner at the captain’s table on several occasions.

  After stopping at Honolulu and Lahaina, the ship was at sea again on the way to Fiji. Albert suggested they purchase a yacht, but Susan said she was perfectly content to let someone else manage the ship while she enjoyed being waited on. The cruise was wonderful, and they enjoyed all the ports they stopped at. During the return to San Francisco Albert and Susan decided that they take cruises regularly.

  After the cruise, they went back to Marshville to see how the construction was going on their house. They had been receiving messages about the progress regularly from the architect so they had some idea of what to expect, but they were surprised to see the progress that had been made. The house was ahead of schedule and it looked like everything would be finished within sixty days.

  Albert and Susan spent the time waiting for the house to be completed buying furniture and other things for the house. They both thought it was fun to buy things without having to worry about the cost. The other thing they did during that time was to give some serious thought about the best way to use their enormous wealth. They both wanted to do something that would help others, but they were not sure exactly what they wanted to do. They decided that, for now, they would make substantial donations to existing charities. However, they both wanted to create a foundation that would help others in some unique way.

  They lived a quiet life together. Mostly forgotten by the media. They loved their house and enjoyed the time the spent there. They went hiking almost every day. It provided a way to exercise and watch the wildlife that surrounded their home. They took a few more cruises too. Susan was sure that during one of those cruises she became pregnant.

  In the spring of 2026, Albert started his political career. He ran for a congressional seat that was currently held by a Republican who had decided to retire after spending almost twenty years in Congress. There were several contenders for the seat but Albert managed to win the primary, so he would face off against a Democrat in the November election. Just prior to the election, the man holding the congressional seat for which Albert was running was accused of accepting money in exchange for political favors. Apparently, it had been going on for several years, and the proof was so overwhelming he did not even try to deny his guilt. As a result, Albert lost the election.

  In January 2027 Albert and Susan had their first child: a girl they named Emily. The event had a profound effect on their lives. For a time, Albert gave up his political aspirations, and he and Susan devoted the next couple of years of their lives to care for her. They took her everywhere they went and rather than being a burden they enjoyed having Emily them.

  However, Albert’s desire to go into politics was still there. He wanted to make a difference, and improve people’s lives, and he thought he could do that a congressman. He decided, and Susan agreed, that he should run for congressional a seat again in 2030.

  F
ALL 2027 THROUGH 2037

  Kingman and Other Major Occurrences

  By 2030 more than ninety-five percent of cars were powered by power modules. In 2029 Kingman released large high torque electric engines that could be used in large trucks and buses. It would take until 2032 before the majority of the “over the road” trucks and buses were electrically powered. This became a necessity because there were almost no gas stations left.

  In 2028 most of the companies that manufactured home and farm tractors began offering electric versions of their products and they were an instant success. They were less expensive and more reliable than the gas-powered equivalents. They were so successful that by the summer of 2029 it was impossible to find any new gas-powered tractors or lawn mowers.

  Because the cost for the power modules continued to rise, cars, riding lawn mowers, tractors, and other farm equipment were designed so the power module could be removed and moved from one device to another. This was one factor that kept the cost of the new equipment down. In fact, when people traded in their cars for newer models they usually kept the power module to use in their new vehicle.

  By the end of 2037, there were no gas-powered vehicles in regular use anywhere. Only planes and ships used fossil fuels.

  In 2035 a group of college students in London discovered the correct formula for the silver alloy rod that was the essential part of the power module. However, by that time it really made no difference. Kingman had over one hundred manufacturing facilities dedicated to making power modules, and they never really made excessive profits on the sales, so it would have been impossible to sell them for substantially less than Kingman. They didn’t even try to make power modules, but they did publish the formula so it was available to everybody.

  By the end of 2037, over thirty billion power modules had been sold and this resulted in all of the coal-fired and nuclear power plants to be decommissioned. The only power plants left were the ones that used water, wind, geothermal, or solar power to generate electricity and they didn’t have very many customers.

  However, despite the fact that air pollution and carbon emissions had been reduced by over ninety percent, it was still impossible to satisfy the radical environmentalists. They still claimed Earth was doomed due to the excessive release of methane gas concentrated over dairy farms and cattle ranches. In other words, cow farts.

  POLITICAL CHANGES

  In 2029 Canada and most of the Central American countries joined with the United States to form the North American Union. All of the countries agreed to use the US dollar as their currency, which most of them were already doing, and English as a common language. Later that year the US dollar became the Universal Dollar.

  In South America, all of the countries joined together in 2031 to form the South American Union. They also selected the Universal Dollar for currency, but they decided to use Spanish for their language.

  In Europe, most of the countries were already members of the European Union. They had a common currency, the Euro, but many different languages. In 2029 they decided to adopt English as their common language, and in 2035 gave up the Euro in favor of the dollar.

  Perhaps the greatest change was in what was referred to as the Middle East. All of the countries in that part of the world, including Israel, formed an alliance called the Middle East Partnership, or MEP, in 2036. The practical benefits from forming the partnership easily outweighed the members’ religious differences, and since the Arab countries no longer had vast amounts of wealth needed to provide goods and services to their citizens, many of the people became farmers and ranchers. The homes and palaces that were used by the royal families or political leaders had mostly been converted into expensive resorts. The member countries had not yet decided on a common language, but they did decide to use the dollar as their currency.

  Finally, in 2037 Australia, New Zealand, and many of the smaller countries in that part of the South Pacific began talks aimed at forming a union.

  SILVER

  In 2024 when the power module was invented, the world was producing about twenty-two thousand metric tons of silver per year. That increased to over thirty-one thousand metric tons in 2032. It was impossible to find that much silver by 2037. During 2037 the world was only able to produce fifteen-thousand metric tons, and that was not enough to meet the demand, as many had predicted ten years prior. Because of the demand for silver, the price increased to more than six thousand dollars per troy ounce. Silver was now so expensive that it was being sold in grams, and one gram cost about one hundred ninety-three dollars.

  As the cost of silver continued to increase, so did the cost of the power modules. At the end of 2037, the cost for a new power module was eight thousand dollars. That made them a prime target for thieves. In order to prevent theft, new power modules were made with a circuit which prevented the module from being used unless an electronic key was within a few feet of it. That did seem to reduce theft, but in many cases, the owners were robbed of their keys when the module was stolen. To prevent this, in 2038 Kingman offered keys that were inserted under the owner’s skin. It was an almost painless procedure and it almost completely resolved the theft problem, but it did create some problems too. For example, you could not use a parking attendant to park your car or lend your car to anybody. This problem was later resolved by providing by the owner with valet keys that could operate the vehicle for a predetermined amount of time, or distance.

  ALBERT AND SUSAN

  Although Albert lost the election in 2026 he decided to try again in 2030. The area was very conservative and Albert ran again in 2030 against the incumbent Democrat and easily won a seat in the House of Representatives.

  After three terms in the House, Albert decided to run for a seat in the Senate and was elected to the North American Union in 2036. He almost immediately joined with other members of the government who wanted to have one government for the entire world.

  By the end of 2027, Albert and Susan decided that, although they already were donating large amounts of money to their favorite charities, it was not enough, so they created the Susan and Albert Simpson Foundation. The goal of the foundation was to provide financial assistance to people who needed money for either educational or medical purposes. Susan ran the foundation, along with a staff of twenty other people. They managed to give away over twenty billion dollars per year and improved the lives of thousands of people all over the world.

  Albert and Susan had their second child, a boy they named Terry, in January 2030. He was named after Susan’s father, Terrance, who had passed away in December 2029.

  2045

  The year 2045 is often thought of by historians as the year peace broke out all over the world.

  In the preceding few years more countries joined with their neighbors to form trade partnerships. One of the largest included India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, and all of the countries in South East Asia; it was called the Asian Common Union, or ACU. Also, in 2044 the African countries formed the African Union. Both groups chose English as their language of choice and the dollar for their currency.

  The only large countries that had not joined with their neighbors were Russia and China. However, Russia joined the European Union in 2045.

  China insisted on using the yuan as currency, and since the rest of the world used dollars they lost most of their trading partners. That, combined with decades of predatory trading practices, meant they were now almost completely isolated. Without trading partners, China had no way of bringing much needed capital into the country so they were on the verge of bankruptcy. But they were stubborn. It would take another thirty years before they finally agreed to join the ACU.

  As a direct result of all of these unions and trading partnerships, the threat of war had completely vanished. Although many countries maintained their armies, albeit, at substantially reduced levels, the armies were now mostly used to handle natural disasters and to do scientific research. The savings that resulted ushered in a new era o
f prosperity for almost everybody.

  Since many of the larger countries had budget surpluses, they were spending the money on scientific and medical research.

  By 2045 heart disease had been almost completely eradicated. New drugs were found that were able to cure many of the more common heart conditions, and if there was no drug to help patients, there were also artificial hearts that could allow you to live a normal life. By 2045 there were more than one hundred thousand people living with artificial hearts.

  Most forms of cancer had been eradicated as well. Breast and prostate cancer had been eliminated by 2035, and by 2045 colon, liver, and pancreatic cancers were no longer a threat.

  One other major problem eliminated was Alzheimer’s disease. It could not be cured, but a medication was found in 2042 that would prevent people from contracting the disease.

  Most of these medical advancements were the result of creating genetic-based drugs. Once the public realized genetic research actually improved their lives, they began to accept genetically modified food. This meant increased crop yields for farmers and the elimination of hunger as a worldwide problem.

  Much of the scientific research was centered in the North American Union. NASA was given the funding to build new ships that would allow people to travel to other places in our solar system in reasonable comfort and at much greater speeds. Much of the credit for the new NASA ships was due to the silver alloy Albert had discovered. It allowed NASA to build plasma-based engines that were more efficient and developed more power than the chemical-based engines used previously. In 2040, people returned to the moon for the first time since 1972. Two years later, a permanent base was established there and was used for the next fifty years.

  In 2045 the first of many manned flights to Mars occurred and NASA had plans to build a permanent base on Mars as well.