"It’s been 20 years since my high school graduation," a famous blogger typed into his thin, transparent laptop. "And at the time, I had no idea how much could change in 20 years. Although, in hindsight, I should have known that anything could happen at any second. Someone could blow up another country in less than an hour. Now, thankfully, that hasn’t happened here in the US. But things have definitely changed, so much so that not everything could be mentioned in one little blog. But it wasn’t until today, May 9th, 2042, that I really noticed the changes...."

I woke up in the morning, the sun barely shining through the automatic tinted window next to me. I got up and simply tapped the window and the blindingly bright light struck my eyes like a flashlight in the middle of the night. Once my eyes adjusted, I smiled at the glorious blue color in the sky. I turned around and snapped my fingers twice.

The room suddenly lit up with a calming soft white color. The fancy thin cylinder-like speaker on the nightstand lit up with a circular blue light spinning, as if it were loading up for the day. After a few seconds, the blue light on the device lit up completely, and a soft voice appeared, “Good morning. Did you have a good night's sleep?”

“I sure did,” I said. “Did you?”

“Yes, I am charged and ready for the day,” the device said. “Would you like to know what the weather will be today?”

As I got ready for the day, I said, “Let me guess, blue skies with a chance of clouds?”

“You are one observant cookie. Yes, the weather will be mostly blue skies with a slight chance of clouds in the afternoon. The temperature outside is 47 degrees and the high today is 72. Judging by the satellite scan I just did, there is little to no traffic in town, maybe a perfect time for a drive?”

“Nah, I’m walking down to the coffee shop.”

“Walking?” the device asked with an odd tone. “Going old school?”

That seemed to strike me. I looked down, thinking of all the times I used to walk home from school, to the restaurant, to the bookstore, to my friend's house, and pretty much everywhere. Now, people don't need to walk anywhere or do anything for themselves. Machines and online capabilities do everything for you. If you need groceries, a drone or robotic car would get it for you. If you need coffee, a machine would make it for you. If you need anything, some type of machine would do it for you. Meanwhile, big-time companies are making trillions of dollars while people stay home and do nothing. Barely anyone even goes to an actual school anymore, it’s almost all done online and at home. 

“Y-yeah… I guess I’m going old school.” I grabbed my nice long-sleeve shirt and put it on. I buttoned it up and took my smart glasses off the charging port. I tapped a small area on the glasses’ arm and the lenses lit up with life. The device assistant loaded up on them and was ready for anything I could possibly ask it. I took the black earbud case and put one earbud in my left ear.

“Smart glasses activated, with 100% battery life,” said the assistant. “Are you ready for the walk?”

I nodded and walked out of my room to pet my pet husky, who was sleeping in his large grey dog bed. He wagged his tail and looked at me with what looked like a smile. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

The husky seemed to nod and ran into the hallway when he heard the dog bowl fill with food.

I walked out of the house and closed the door behind me. I took a few steps and wondered why nobody bothered to walk the streets anymore. It was always a refreshing thing to do, at least for me.

The sidewalk split into two, and I went to the right, that much I knew. But I haven't been to the coffee shop in a long time. Oftentimes I just ordered the coffee from the Drone Delivery like everyone else. But there’s just something about going to get something yourself that just seems more… thrilling.

I suddenly looked up with worry and asked, “Can you lock the front door?” Suddenly, on the lenses, a picture of a lock turned from green to red, and the assistant spoke in my left ear, “Front door is now locked.”

As I looked around, I really began to notice the sheer lack of social interaction. If it weren’t for the fancy new cars driving around town, I would have thought the town was deserted. I also began to think about how much we’ve put into the hands of electric machines. People used to think it was scary, that machines will take over the world, when in reality, we kind of let it take us over.

After a while I began to think about what my next blog would be about. It eventually came to the point where I was so lost in thought that a car honked its horn, showing me that I was about to walk right in front of the car across a faint crosswalk. I jumped and let the car drive away.

It was at this point that I had to finally admit to my assistant that I was lost. “Can you show me the way to the café, please?”

“Certainly,” it said without hesitation.

On the glasses, it showed a trail of white dots showing me the way to go. I followed them and eventually made it to the fancy coffee shop 15 minutes later.

“You have arrived at your destination."

As I got closer to the doors, they opened automatically, and closed when I walked through.

There were only about three people in the café, sitting away from each other and on their crystal-clear phones. I shook my head and reached the register and put a polite smile on my face. “Good morning.”

The long brown haired lady with black circle glasses smiled back and said, “Good morning. What can I get ya?”

“I’ll get a 16 ounce peppermint mocha cappuccino, please.”

She nodded and barked it at the nearby robots. They swiftly grabbed a 16 ounce cup and began preparing the coffee.

I was confused. “Wait, you don’t… actually make it?”

She sighed. “No. Believe me, I wish I could. But the manager says that robots do a better job than people.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just shrugged and looked up at the large TV screen above the register. They seemed to be interviewing an astronaut live.

“So, what was it like on Mars?” the reporter on the screen asked.

“Oh, man… it was amazing! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life. And when I placed that American flag in the ground, it… it was like, everything changes from here. I mean, when you think about how great everyone felt when we landed on the moon, it was nothing compared to landing on Mars.”

The reporter nodded and seemed to have one last question. “What are your thoughts on people of Earth inhabiting Mars?”

The astronaut shook his head. “I… it’s incredible. I was kind of lost for words when they said that’s our next mission. I-”

“The peppermint mocha is ready!” the lady called.

I looked away from the screen and handed her my debit card.

"Thank you," she said as she put the card in the machine. "It's a good thing we didn't get rid of the card reader yet. The majority of people nowadays don't use cards."

I looked to the side. "Right. I keep forgetting to switch it to voice pay." Then I looked back at the machine and asked, "Do you have any ideas for a blog?"

The small machine beeped and she pulled out the card and gave it back to me. "A blog, huh?" She cocked her head. "Well, I'd blog about robots in stores and cafes that are taking over our jobs." She glared at one of the skinny tall robots that was rolling around on wheels preparing coffee faster than any human could, all without spilling anything.

I glanced at the faceless robots too, watching them never stop, rolling around swiftly like scurrying mice. They looked nothing like the ones in the movies and TV shows.

The lady looked back at me. "Anyway, what's your blogging website? I'd like to check it out. Actually, you know what, I'll probably forget. I'll have you write it down."

She looked around for a piece of paper, then she shouted at one of the robots, "Hey, where'd all the paper go?"

As one of the thin robots was pouring hot coffee into a cup carefully, it responded, "All paper was recycled last Monday."

She clenched her jaw. She was obviously fed up with the robots. "Well, why'd you do that, Rust Bucket?"

The robot simply replied with, "No need for it."

The lady shook her head and pulled out her clear phone. She put it on a notes app and handed it to me.

I typed the name of my blogging website and the website address, then I gave it back.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to check this out."

"Awesome, thanks. Well, have a good day."

And as I walked away, she waved her hand. “Will do! Do you know what you’re going to blog about?”

Before I got to the doors, I looked around and glanced at the two robots behind the register. “I actually just got an idea for one. Thanks for the coffee.”

The doors opened as I walked out, and again they closed behind me. I started walking in a certain direction away from town, thinking about what I just saw. And as I took sips of my coffee, I had to painfully agree, the robots do make great coffee. But they are taking people's jobs, doing things for them.

“Where are you going?” the assistant asked from my earbud. “I can show you the way if you need me to.”

“No, thank you. I’m going somewhere to clear my head.”

As I was walking, I reached another faint crosswalk, but this time I looked both ways and was about to take a step.

“Stop!” the assistant yelled in my ear. “There is a car near you going 50 miles per hour.”

I stopped, but I didn’t see a car. Suddenly, a fancy white glowing car zoomed past me going the speed it had said, with a police car racing behind it with its lights flashing and siren blaring.

I laid my hand on my heart. I would have been a flat pancake if I didn’t listen to it. “Thank you for saving me.”

“You are welcome—It is safe to cross now.”

I crossed the street quickly and walked to the nearby park. It was deserted and looked as old as time. The paint was coming off, rust was visible, and it looked like no kid had been on the playground in a century.

I sat at a picnic table and rested my head on my fist. The world had become a machine. Everything really was different than it was twenty years ago.

“Is everything alright?” the device asked.

“Yes, it’s just… everything is so different from when I was little. It seems as if tech has taken us all over.”

“Hmm, that was never our initial intent. Our intent was to help."

"That's true, we just let tech do more than that."

As I sat there thinking about what the world had become, I wondered if my one blog could inform people, and change the world perhaps. But as my imagination began to run wild as it usually did, I heard a sudden faint burst of laughter.

I stood up and looked around the playground, but no one was there. A slight shiver ran down my spine. Did I imagine it? "Assistant, did you hear that laughter?"

"Yes," it said.

"Where did it come from?"

"There are two people using Augmented Reality Gaming Suits near you."

"A what?" I've never heard it say that before. Finally, I spotted a small child run up to me and pretend to punch something.

"I got the zombie," the little boy said." You can come out now."

Then a little girl the same age as him ran up to him and they gave each other a high-five. "Thanks, now we can move on to the next level!"

I began to feel awkward standing there. They were both wearing what looked like thin Virtual Reality headsets that covered their eyes, glowing blue gloves and shoes, and odd thin black suits that also glowed technology blue. And the weirdest thing was that they were little kids about the age of seven, with no parents in sight.

"What are you kids doing?" I asked to break the awkwardness.

The little boy looked directly at me with a blank expression. "Whoa, how did a human survive the zombie apocalypse?"

"Maybe he is an NPC. We should see if he has any useful weapons we can buy," the little girl suggested.

At first I was completely lost, but then I realized that they must think I am in their videogame. "No, I'm not in your video game."

The two kids finally understood. "Oh, okay."

"That makes much more sense," the boy said.

"Where are your parents?" I asked them.

The little girl pointed at a distant picnic table where a man and a woman were playing on their phones.

Even though they couldn't possibly see me, I scowled at them. Then I looked back at the kids with the fancy technology. "Why are you guys playing virtually when you could be playing at this real park?"

The boy pushed the headset above his eyes, and as soon as he did, he squinted, "Ahh, it's bright out here!"

His sister did the same thing but didn't squint. "What is there to do here? The playground is deserted and gross. The game we're playing is really fun."

"I'm sure it is. But haven't you ever used your imagination?"

They looked at me blankly, as if I'd just said a word in a different language. "What's that?" the boy asked curiously.

I was shocked! "You don't know what imagination is?" And without waiting for them to say 'no', I stood in an archer position and pretended to pull back the string to a bow.

The boy leaned to his sister and asked, "What is he doing?"

She shook her head and shrugged.

"I'm pulling back a bow. You know, getting ready to shoot an arrow?" I said. "Using your imagination means you can be creative and think of anything you want. Go on, try it."

At first they just looked at each other, then they took off their headsets and turned off their AR Gaming Suits.

The boy looked at his hands and put them together like he was holding a large sword.

"There you go," I said.

"Umm, now what? I... I still don't see anything."

"Of course you don't, you have to picture it in your head," I tried to explain. "Now, look over there, there's a dragon about to breathe its fire at you!"

He seemed to close his eyes, then open them with a determined expression. "Ooh! I see it!" He quickly ducked and pretended to slay the villainous dragon. "Hah! I won!"

I smiled as the little girl ran to me, "Ooh, ooh, I want to try!" She raised her hand high.

"Go ahead, join him on your conquest to save the world!"

She ran to him with excitement and played with him. And eventually, they seemed to actually use the playground as if it was their very own pirate ship.

I smiled again and waved goodbye. They thanked me and instantly continued their new game.

As I was walking home, I asked my assistant, "What is the current popularity of the words 'imagination' and 'creativity'?"

"Checking... the current popularity of the words you said have plummeted greatly since the last five years. It appears that one in ten thousand use those words."

That broke my heart, and I had finally had enough of it.

Once I got home, I played with my dog, and went straight to my laptop. I opened it up and opened a new blog. Whether or not this one blog could change the world, I decided to give it a try anyway.

"Are you going to power me off," the assistant asked.

I took a deep breath, "Yes, but I will use you only when I need help."

"I understand. Go on, change the world for the better. I'll be here if you need me."

I held my finger on the power area of my glasses and it said, "Powering off."

When the blog builder on my laptop appeared, I simply typed, 'Too Much Assistance'.

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