I got on my electric bike and rode through my Auckland neighbourhood. My destination was the local supermarket.
I fancied a hamburger for lunch. Although livestock farming had been banned in 2030, a tasty array of lab-grown meat was available. Some people preferred the more natural flavour of weta patties. They were a cheaper option too, ever since they had been added to the burgeoning list of GST exemptions. But I found them a little crunchy for my taste.
Aside from the odd electric bus, a colourful array of bikes were the only vehicles in sight. Petrol cars had been banned in 2032. An unforeseen consequence had been to drain the national grid as hundreds of thousands of people changed over to electric cars. So, a year later, those had been banned too – apart from a small fleet for the exclusive use of government officials.
Had I been heading to the airport I might have used the newly minted light rail. This wonderous project had been completed in 2038, only nine years behind schedule and for just three times its original budget. It was widely hailed as a resounding success for the Ministry of Infrastructure.
I rode past one of the many free dental clinics established after Labour’s’ surprise landslide victory back in 2023. The clinics had proven popular. The only problem was a chronic shortage of dentists. Since the adoption of the 2024 science curriculum, the supply of secondary school graduates qualified to train for the medical professions had dwindled.
For a time, it looked as if immigrants from Equatorial Guinea might have been able to plug the gap. Unfortunately, problems at Immigration New Zealand had resulted in a 12-year waiting list for visas and they had all gone to Australia instead.
The next landmark on my journey was the now disused Paremoremo prison. The last prisoner had been released in 2034 after incarceration was banned as a cruel and unusual punishment. There had been a bit of an uptick in the murder rate, but it was a small price to pay for a truly progressive justice system.
Arriving at the supermarket, I joined the queue three blocks away. It had taken me just 15 minutes to ride to the supermarket, but now I faced a two hour wait to buy my lunch.
Life is all about trade-offs.
Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. This article was published HERE
Had I been heading to the airport I might have used the newly minted light rail. This wonderous project had been completed in 2038, only nine years behind schedule and for just three times its original budget. It was widely hailed as a resounding success for the Ministry of Infrastructure.
I rode past one of the many free dental clinics established after Labour’s’ surprise landslide victory back in 2023. The clinics had proven popular. The only problem was a chronic shortage of dentists. Since the adoption of the 2024 science curriculum, the supply of secondary school graduates qualified to train for the medical professions had dwindled.
For a time, it looked as if immigrants from Equatorial Guinea might have been able to plug the gap. Unfortunately, problems at Immigration New Zealand had resulted in a 12-year waiting list for visas and they had all gone to Australia instead.
The next landmark on my journey was the now disused Paremoremo prison. The last prisoner had been released in 2034 after incarceration was banned as a cruel and unusual punishment. There had been a bit of an uptick in the murder rate, but it was a small price to pay for a truly progressive justice system.
Arriving at the supermarket, I joined the queue three blocks away. It had taken me just 15 minutes to ride to the supermarket, but now I faced a two hour wait to buy my lunch.
Life is all about trade-offs.
Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. This article was published HERE
6 comments:
It will be so much worst than this if humanity lasts that long.
It will only become a dystopian reality if the majority of people keep complying with the globalists/governments tyrannical agenda.
Stop complying. You cannot comply your way out of tyranny.
Brilliant.
Request: please expand into a novella ( under 100 pages).
Worthy of Jonanthan Swift.
You will not be eating Weta Patties.
They are a 'toanga' so no, way to precious.
Whenever there is a collison, or some child throws a cord over the power wire, or some obscure elctronic or progrrmming gltch occurs, the whole tram system will be shut down for hours.
An amusing reflection Michael, but you overlooked the fact that if Labour succeeded, they would by then have been 'gifted' a new Te Reo handle, as would things like all the modes of transport with various derivatives of 'waka'; same for the items of kai at those kaiwhares; and, as for 'Auckland' and 'New Zealand' - how quaint. And by 2040, He Puapua would be in full swing and you, and most of your fellow Kiwis, would have flown the coop to another land. So, thanks for highlighting the potential nightmare ahead. :)
A good point Robert, and of course there's always the potential of a massive Solar Flare or, more worryingly, a huge Coronal Mass Ejection which could take out the power grid for an unspecified time. A good reason not to be too reliant on the National Grid for not if, but when that goes down, mayhem will certainly ensue.
Oh, the irony of a bit of light-hearted humour and all these portends.
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