Student visions of the future, IV

Cities will merge into megatropolis

By Samual Wallace, Bettendorf After college I will become a scientist and discover a couple of planets. I will make sure Pluto stays a planet and find planet X. Maybe I'll find more moons of any planet I choose. The news will spread all across the world. I will be the best and smartest scientist that ever lived. In the future the cities in the Quad-Cities will merge together. More and more people will move here. The big city will become a metropolitan area and then a megatropolis. This city will be known all over the world. Middle pool will be national! Washington D.C., Chicago and San Francisco hooked together? Can you say puny? With a population of more than a billion this is the living ``Sim City 3000'' only disaster proof!

Computers, women rise to the top

By Casey Hammond, J.D. Darnall I have a vision of the twenty-first century as being run by computers and also as a century for women to take over the work force. The first vision of the twenty-first century I have, is everything becoming computerized. Right now just about everything you do is related to a computer. Look what you can do on the computer already! You can go anywhere in the world and look up information about that area. You can talk to people through different services. Cars are starting to include electronic maps that tell you what interstates and roads to take to get to your destination. In the future statistics say that there will be electronic pieces in the roads and a piece in your car so you really won't need to drive! The computer is one of the leading visions of the twenty-first century. I have a second vision of the twenty-first century. It is a vision that women will slowly pull up to the top in the work force. It has already been proven that the percent of women going to college, has climbed. The amount of men going to college has declined. With the amount of women going to college, climbing means women are willing and able to get great jobs in the work force. With the amount of men attending college is declining, that means men are going straight into the work force, getting jobs that they are less capable of doing. Women are taking the time to attend a few more years of college so that they can live in the world happily. That is my second vision I have of the twenty-first century. Those are the two visions I have of the twenty-first century. They are that computers will run the world. The second vision is that women will work their way up to the top of the work force. Those are the visions of the twenty-first century!

Imperfection removed from all of earth

By Kirk McCaw, J.D. Darnall For the first part of the century, the world will be much like it is today. There will be a few minor inventions that will make life for our lazy society easier than it is, but other than that there will be no major changes. Then the most amazing thing will happen and it will change everybody's lives. There is not a soul on the planet that won't reap the benefits of this event. It will change everyone's lives for the better. The earth will no longer have any boundaries. There will be no lines to separate city from city, or state from state, or country from country. There will be no form of government. Everyone will just take care of each other. The world will just be run from mutual respect for each other. Social classes will be completely eliminated, because there will be no need for money. There will be no language barrier whatsoever. Everyone will be able to communicate with everyone. Style of life for everyone will be different. There will be no cars, no trains, no airplanes. All travel, will be conducted by saying where you want to go, and all of a sudden you will be there. Whatever you desire will come to you, and the only amount it will cost is the joy it will bring to you. No one will have any second thoughts or doubts, because everything you do will be right. The world will be a perfect utopia, and everyone will be able to explain what happened to make it that way. There will be no complaints because everyone will love their life. The earth will be perfect in every way, shape, and form, and what will make it that way, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

We need less violence and more love

By Ashley Anderson, J.D. Darnall My vision of the 21st century is less violence and more love. I think that if we have less violence our world would be a lot safer and have a lot less problems. We wouldn't have to face with some people going to school and feeling unsafe and feeling unsafe in any place that you want to be at. Violence seems to be controlling our society maybe we should start to control it. Maybe we should start to take a stand for what we believe in. Who knows what can be accomplished if you just stand up for how you feel. Someone will listen and believe it and even feel the same way as you. So take a stand against violence. Also, another vision for the 21st century is to have more love going around. So many things can be accomplished through love. Once John Lennon said, ``All you need is love.'' So do you believe him? If we believe him we should start our actions with love and not needs or wants because eventually that turns to jealousy and unhappiness when you don't get it. When you start and act out of love, you also receive love. The best thing about love is both ends, it is the best feeling to make someone fell good but it is also good to feel the love, too. In my vision of the 21st century, I feel, that we need to have less violence and cure it with love.

Let 2000 be a new beginning

By Annie Jones, J.D. Darnall When you hear the syllables ``Y2K,'' what do you think of? The first thing that comes to my mind is not a vision of sadness and despair, or of the end of the world, but it is a vision of hope and happiness. I have talked with people who have horrific visions of their family starving and people ransacking their house looking for food. I see this to be ridiculous and unrealistic. There is no reason that our world is going to end. On the contrary, I see it as a chance for reawakening and new understanding. Today's society is so mixed up morally. A decent percentage of our population just wanders aimlessly through life, seeking the fame and fortune that is typically desired by those with no other purpose. It is such a shame that the only thing that these people contribute to society is boosting the economy. People need to learn to make a difference in the lives of other people. If we are only living for ourselves, we are living in vain. Nothing will last after we are gone. Instead, we need to find direction and purpose for our lives. This direction can only come from God, who created us and knows what He has in store for us. People have stopped believing in God. They have come to believe instead that they are their own god, and that whatever they decide is right must be right. If our society continues believing this, surely the moral situation of America and the rest of the world will worsen with the year 2000. We can not make the mistake of allowing ourselves to become so great in the eyes of each other that we forget about the One that put us here in the first place. No one can learn to compromise if they think they are always right and just in their thinking. We need to humble ourselves in 2000 and let it be a new beginning. What do we have to lose in opening up spiritually and emotionally? There is no reason that we need to continue hiding our sins and guilt from one another. My vision for the 21st century is this -- that people will realize they need people. We cannot live from day to day without the support of our fellow humans. We also need to remember that God is there for us, no matter what. Without Him, life is meaningless and empty. To make the year 2000 and the years to follow the best that we possibly can, we need to ask Him for help. What is there to lose? And besides, if you are worried about the world ending, what better being to trust than the one who began it all?

Elvis reports will continue this century

Melanie B. Verstraete I don't know about anyone else, but things don't seem any different to me. I keep expecting to feel some kind of revelation or futuristic hum within my being. But, ya know Ï I get up every morning, make sure my family is ready to start the day, and I toddle off to work at Arrowhead Ranch Ï just like I did every day in 1999, 98, 97, etc. Thoughts of a future don't seem much different than the ones I had in the last millennium. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting impending doom that I feel so flat about the millennium. Heck, I didn't even fill my bathtub with water or stock up on toilet paper, gasoline or groceries. The only significant millennial thing I did was rush to Toys R Us to find a Trivial Pursuit game to play with the company that was coming over. I happened to purchase the Millennium version simply because the regular version was sold out. Even then I contemplated whether or not I should spend the extra money. Oh, and then there was the trip to Walgreen's to buy a bottle of lime vodka for Green Alligators. (They taste good in any century!) Perhaps I'd feel differently if the television or microwave had made even the smallest of glitches. At least then I could have said, ``There. Ya see?'' but they didn't, and I didn't. So here we all are plodding through each day of the year 2000. If I have to make predictions for the future, they would be broad generalizations. Technology, of course, will take us beyond science fiction; people will be inherently good most of the time, except for those we read about in the news; Elvis sightings will continue to be reported, and I will wake up every morning of my life, get my family ready to start the day, and I'll toddle off to work at Arrowhead Ranch until I retire. Not to fret, however. I love my life Ï my family, my friends, my job, the students I work with. After all, that's really what it's all about in any time period and a vision worth striving for. And if nothing else, the year ``2000'' does have kind of a nice ring to it doesn't it?

We may be getting ahead of ourselves

By Glenna L. Palmer, Cambridge Since things seem to be moving so quickly in all phases of technology, it is almost scary. I am a senior citizen and the vision is a bit cloudy. But I do see great advances in medicine which I think is great. Cancer research will be the biggest advance. But there are many other diseases that need to be dealt with. I hope to see the ability to do more transplanting of body organs such as for the eyes. Cars of the future will probably not have wheels, they will be propelled by electrons a few feet above the ground. I'll still stick with my four-wheeled Chevy. Our children and grandchildren will not be doing much physical labor, they will punch a key on the computer and a robot will do work for them. They won't enjoy Mother Nature as we have in the past century. I say progress is good, but in my looking toward the future, I'm afraid we're getting ahead of ourselves in some things. But as always, we will accept what is before us whether we like it or not.

Computers, medicine, cars change

By Virginia Coussens, Prophetstown I see many changes that will come in the 21st century. These advances will help not only people, but also the environment. Advances in medicine, in education and in transportation are some of the things that I see for the future. The advances in medicine that I see are a cure for cancer and Aids. Scientists are already working hard on these cures and with all the advances that are coming with technology, I see that the cure for these diseases to soon follow. I also envision artificial organs being created and being successful. This will increase the number of transplants that will be performed and more people being saved. In addition, in education I see many advances. Computers will be offered in every classroom for individual use. Along with the computer will be programs to help students along with their homework or even just to understand their assignments. Transportation is one of the biggest changes that I see for the 21st century. The first advance that I see is fuel that will not pollute the environment as much as gasoline, and will be able to be produced and sold cheaper. After this, I foresee that soon we will also have cars that will move not with wheels, but instead float. These are just some advances that I think our generation will create and produce to benefit others and the environment. Advances in medicine, education, and transportation, I am certain, will change the way that we live and think. With luck, these changes will bring more peace to the world.

Schools won't be needed any more

By Joe Curnyn, J.D. Darnall High School In the 21st century, I see televisions as becoming automated. All you would have to do is think of the show you wanted anytime of day and it will come on the TV. Next I see all the first world countries in the west to unite into one country. AIDS will wipeout the lives of the central African nations. A new source of energy will be found which will get rid of nuclear energy and will be safer. Our supply of fossil fuels will be depleted to the point where only electricity is used to power automobiles. Computers will be miniaturized to the point where we have implants in out head that will store information for us. This will eliminate the need for schools because all the learning will be done by you plugging in your miniaturized computer into an outlet while you sleep. Farming will become automated by robots and computers. The food output will be great enough to feed the world. Cloning of animals will be legalized and become more efficient so that meat will be available to all. There will be a space colony on the moon experimenting with life in space. The new power source will provide enough energy to travel through space by bending light making it possible to travel faster than the speed of light. The large one country will have one official language and slowly have other nations join it making one large world government. The DNA structure of the human will be fully understood and genetically inherited diseases will be wiped out. The population growth rate of the will slow and the average family size will be 3.5. Transportation will be done by a subway system between the interstate roads. This will be used for commuters into a work place far from home. This will separate the working area from the residential area improving the standard of living for all. Towards the end of the 21st century a large asteroid or meteor will strike the Jupiter moon Titan, and cause large amounts of debris to strike the sun causing solar flares wiping out the satellites making space travel unsafe. We will then look towards the sea in the 22nd century.

Machines will be activated by voice

By Craig Anderson, Orion High School There will be many advancements in technology in the new millennium. There will be advancements in automobiles, home appliances and medicine, advancements that will make daily life a little easier and less complicated. Advancements in automobiles may include better gas mileage, or even a better, more environmentally, sound fuel, better horsepower, better control, or even flying cars. The better fuel has already been considered very heavily. I'm sure, and the better horsepower is what every automobile enthusiast is after anyway. Better control is what could really lead to safer driving. Maybe the cars of the future will have ``stop on a dime'' braking, or ``pin-point'' turning. Even after all that there will be the greatest automobile innovation ever: the affordable, reliable, electrically powered, flying car. You will no longer need to pave roads, snow plow, or ever pull people out of the ditches. Home appliances will be advanced in the future with the aid of computers. There are already voice activated computers which are very expensive. These will soon become more affordable and some businesses will start adding them to their appliances. This will make any sort of manual labor almost unnecessary. You can tell your washer and dryer to turn on and off. You can turn on your lights, start your bath or even turn on your stove with the sound of your voice. TVs, VCRs, and most stereos already have remotes, but this will make pressing buttons obsolete. You can write a report or any paper by just telling your computer what to write and change the channel by just saying the number. Medicine's greatest advancement will be the ability to kill viruses. AIDs, STDs, even the common cold will be curable. Being able to kill cancer will also be another great advancement. We will also devise a medicine to prolong life and raise the life expectancy. This may cause over population, but by that time we will have colonized other planets and the population will not be a concern. The next millennium will be very exciting. The last few years of the 1990s, we have been advancing technologically at a rapid pace. I think we will continue this through the new millennium and will soon come to the major advances I have mentioned above.

Cities will merge into megatropolis

More people must catch the vision

By Lisa Mizeur, Moline Since I grew up watching the Jetson's, my vision of the 21st Century would include personal space cars. I always thought that would be fun plus we wouldn't have to use so much farm land for roads. Also since the year 2000 rolled around with no big glitches or disasters, my vision for the 21st century would include no more violence in our schools and work places. But in reality, it doesn't matter what my vision is because God is in control and His plans will be carried out no matter what we do. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He knows the past, present and future. Nothing is a surprise to Him. So my true vision of the 21st Century is that more and more people would catch the vision of following Jesus Christ.

People will live for 125 years

By Jane Hartman, Sherrard My vision would include major medical advances, a cure for cancer and HIV. People will live 125 years.

All may change but the weather

By Jared Guay, J.D. Darnall High School In the 21st century we will see amazing things. New cars will revolutionize the way we currently are driving. They will take garbage for gasoline and float. All pollution problems will be solved. No longer will we have to worry about the ozone layer or activists complaining about the pollution problems we currently have. Great medical feats will appear out of nowhere. We will be able to cure the common cold with one pill, and will be cured in twenty minutes. Transplants will no longer be needed. We will be able to actually grow the organ the subject needs right inside their body and get rid of the old one. Problems in schools will deplete 95% due to harsher rules and stricter teachers. A normal working day will go from nine hours to three hours due to machines taking over human jobs. We will have a brand new president to get the dirt on instead of listening to the same old Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky jokes. We will have new tales to tell our friends to humor them. What fun that will be? Problems with foreign relations will be solved because some genius will rise and say, ``Can't we all just get along?'' All sports will be a past time, instead families will join together and watch old reruns or soap operas. The old three strikes and you're out policy will be stricken from the record and will be changed to one strike and you're through. The household will be revolutionized also. You will be able to cook frozen foods in four seconds in a new type of oven that is currently unheard of. Computers will be the size of a pack of cigarettes. Cigarettes will be banned from the United States and burnt in other countries and the waste dumped into local lakes and rivers. Minimum wage will go up to fourteen dollars an hour, boy will we all live like kings. Immediately following the minimum wage rise will be the rise in gasoline and oil prices. Gas will be thirty-five dollars a gallon followed by fourteen dollars a quart for oil. Living in the 21st century will of course be a very beautiful thing. One thing that will always remain, will be the weather. We will never be able to control the weather.

Even human looks will be changed

By James Mickley, J.D. Darnall High School *Note: All of the following may change without notice. Technology is the best word to describe my prediction of the 21st century. I can imagine now the disease-free people flying around in their little fuel-efficient hovercrafts. I shouldn't really say people, because we are not going to have the same characteristics of the humans in this century. Instead we are going to be so advanced that we are going to have computer chips implanted into our brains, which will make us look like robots do now. Everything is going to be automated; from the breakfast we eat, to the cars we drive. Instead of losing computers as a result of Y2K, we are going to be taken over by artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is going to be the result of backfires in the programs that are meant to stop any computer crashes. Once the year comes around computers will have a mind of their own. Instead of destroying us like they should, they are going to use us as toys by implanting chips in our brains to do what they want us to. Our memories will be capable of storing ten times as much information than previously. This will replace our ability to have feelings because the robots will get tired of our pointless bickering. There will no longer be any more than one type of medicine, all others will be disposed of. This single serum will be given to every baby when they are born and will prevent every thinkable disease and virus. This leaves no purpose for all other ``symptom'' medicines, and therefore they will be either thrown away or kept so that scientists can mock their inability to fight sicknesses like their serum. The lowering of the disease and viruses will increase the expected life span of the average person to around 100 years old. The robots will regulate the growth in population by merely changing the computer chip. It will be easy for the artificial intelligence to sustain life on our planet; they will simply expand into the rainforest and plains. They have no need for oxygen, because it only causes their parts to rust. They will find super efficient ways to power cars and all the things necessary for their human toys. The artificial intelligence will find a way to produce over 100% efficiency rates. This will be defying the laws of physics, but the artificial intelligence will be able to do that because it can understand it's own kind better than we can. Beware, for the 21st century is just around the corner. It would be a good idea to get rid of that computer you have at home. If not, the next thing you'll know it will be in command of you.

Machines may lead to downfall

By David Lundt, Orion High School What does the future have in store for us all? This question has boggled the minds of scientists, philosophers, and prophets. Some believe that a huge computer virus will wipe out all the computers of the world and we will be left in the Dark Ages yet again. Some believe that floods, fires, and earthquakes will wipe out humanity, or most of it anyway. And yet others believe that nothing will happen at all and the human race will be left alone to evolve into a superior race. But what do I believe? That is the question that is truly important. Well let me tell you. First of all I don't believe that anything too significant will happen at midnight on December 31, 1999. But I do believe that computers will be our downfall. We will introduce the concept of artificial intelligence not too long after New Years Day. Almost immediately after that, machines will start to replace humans in all job and military applications. Before too long the computers will get sick of humans and try to eliminate them. They will attack us on all fronts. We will strike back, with little effect. Pretty soon a major war will break out between us. The people of all countries will unite to destroy the machines. It will he ironic that this will be the cost of world peace. The machines will wipe out almost everyone on the face of the earth. The few survivors will hide deep beneath the earth's crust. There they will remain for centuries. In the meantime, the machines will rule the Earth. Their long awaited downfall will eventually be caused by monkeys, yes, monkeys. After much evolution, humans will return to the surface. There they will be enslaved by these dirty apes. It will remain like this for a long time, until the aliens come to put a stop to it. But that is a whole other story. All I can say is that the future looks bleak.