Las Vegas 2037
By Dick Pelletier
The fictional Smith clan might well be the family of Las Vegas' future. And in 25 years, you too might cruise around in driverless cars, hop a scramjet to anywhere on Earth in an hour, be pampered by a robot servant, communicate at times using only your thoughts, and live in an ageless, forever-healthy body.
Now kick back, relax, and transcend yourself into the future. Enjoy this fun glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a typical "2037" family!
Las Vegas family of five and robot, 25 years into the future
5:30 A.M.
It is a beautiful winter morning in 2037. In this area of Las Vegas, just off Tropicana between Rainbow and Buffalo, about a third of the residents have already begun their day's activities. Many of the remaining households have not yet begun to stir.
Among the homes on this street is a large one-story Spanish revival-style house of the type that was frequently built in this area during the construction boom of the early 21st century. A streamlined cobalt-blue auto-drive car is parked in the driveway. The street is quiet.
6:00 A.M.
With barely a perceptible click, the Smith house turns itself on, as it has every morning since the family had it retrofitted with the Smart House System 10 years ago. Within seconds, warm air flows from the home's breathing ducts while the water heater checks to make sure there's plenty of hot water. In the kitchen, the newly-installed nano-replicator comes to life ready to create coffee, milk, organic fruit juices, and bio-friendly breakfast selections for each member of the family.
Walls in every room begin to dimly display, in soft tones, 3-D outdoor scenes with pleasant fresh air odors and appropriate sounds seashores, country lakes, and snow-capped mountain peaks. These personalized wall displays add a psychological touch that the Smiths have grown to enjoy.
6:30 A.M.
Stretching his arms in a human manner, Bradley the Smiths' life-like robot completes the energy renewal session of his power-pack. Bradley is a state-of-the-art 3rd generation robot capable of performing most household chores. He understands human moods and can participate in limited conversation. Recently Bradley has developed a stubborn, all-too-human personality, complaining that he is not given enough respect. The Smiths find this trait amusing they think the world of their robot.
While browsing the net, Bradley learned of the upcoming 4th generation robots. "4th-gens", as they are called, are expected to achieve greater-than-human intelligence, and Bradley has asked to be upgraded when they become available in about five years. But the Smiths say no. They fear more intelligence would change Bradley's personality, and they love him just the way he is.
An obedient Bradley heads for the master bedroom for his first task of the day. He gently knocks on the door, calling out the Smiths' names and the time in a pleasant, southern drawl: "Good morning, y'all it's time to rise and shine".
On the other side of the door, Alicia Smith, a 45-year-old medical information specialist, is out of bed in a flash. Pulling on some sweats, Alicia heads for the home gym, where electronic weights and other gadgets read instructions from her identity chip implant, and she begins her 20-minute workout.
The Smith children poke fun at their mother's exercising. Nearly ten years ago, gene therapies became available that made it unnecessary for people to exercise. Physical changes that exercise brought about are mimicked by just taking a pill but Alicia says she exercises because she enjoys the sweat and earthy feelings she gets from putting her body through a physical workout.
Meanwhile, her husband Randolph Smith, 50, a senior executive at a Las Vegas-based multinational corporation, is having a harder time. He's still feeling exhausted from the night before, when his 85-year-old widowed mother, Carlotta, who lives with the family, kept him up most of the night talking about prospective dates she met at an on-line virtual reality (VR) party.
Six weeks ago, Carlotta became the first in the Smith family to undergo complete genetic rejuvenation which transformed her 85-year-old body into a striking 20-something beauty. Alicia and Randolph underwent stem cell and genetic engineering therapies that keep their bodies in perfect health internally, but have so far opted against regenerating their outer skin. Randolph believes his "dignified" look helps influence co-workers at the job, and Alicia first wants to see how her mother-in-law handles the change from a grandmotherly to a teenage look.
Glancing in the mirror, Carlotta thinks, "wow is that really me?" I can hardly wait to find a great guy to begin sharing my life with again maybe a mature person who has undergone the same procedure" she muses. And she thinks her son should help her critique likely candidates.
After finally convincing his mother that she needs to make her own choices, Randolph, unable to fall asleep, spent a couple of hours at the powerful com-center in the study, talking with his counterparts in the firm's Tokyo office. But this morning, he can't afford to be late. With a grunt, he rolls out of bed and heads for the bathroom, where he swishes "Nano-rinse", a product that sends tiny nanoparticles scurrying around his teeth making them sparkling clean then hurries to get dressed. As he does, Carlotta appears on the wall-screen trying again to get his help.
Randolph silently thought-clicks the video-send image off so Carlotta can't see him in his boxer shorts, and then says in a curt voice, "Mom, I don't want to get involved; I'm late; I have to go". When Randolph heads for the kitchen, he leaves the bed unmade. Bradley always directs nanobot cleaning procedures that keep clothing and household items organized and like-new.
7:00 A.M.
Down the hall, 11-year-old Mike feels a gentle tugging on his sleeve. It's his dog, "Max", waking him up. Although Mike thinks of him as a real dog, Max is a robo-pet a small robot less sophisticated than Bradley that Mike has enjoyed ever since his real bull terrier ran away. Max helped Mike learn to read and now helps with his studies.
This morning, Mike asks his dog to retrieve Thought Police, his favorite group, from the house-com and make it available for him to listen on the way to school. Max, who barks, and also speaks perfect "human", says he'll do so but only if Mike promises to not pull any more tricks in class. Yesterday, he downloaded a program and sent it directly into his best friend Robbie's neurons, which made Robbie, believe they were at Disneyland. When Mike's teacher saw what happened, she came within an inch of sending Mike to virtual detention. Mike promised to not do that again.
Across the hall, Mike's sister, 15-year-old Sandy, awakens to the quiet and gentle voice of "Meggers", her own personal hologram. Meggers was created years ago as an avatar an on-screen image designed after Alicia's favorite movie star, Meg Ryan. In the beginning, Meggers helped family members interface with the house-com. But as technology advanced, avatars gained the ability to appear off screen as a life-like hologram. And thanks to recently-invented "nanobot swarm", Sandy can now actually feel Meggers when they hold hands or hug.
Sandy pleaded to keep Meggers as her room-mate and advisor, and the two have been together ever since. Sandy controls Meggers with only her thoughts, and Meggers, connected to the Internet, helps Sandy with her education. They have become an inseparable pair.
Sandy asks Meggers to download a movie Even though I'm a Granddaddy with a Cane, Awaiting Genetic Rejuvenation, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Her classmates say it's hilarious.
Meggers agrees to get the movie, and reminds Sandy that she must be in class by 8:00 A.M., so there's no time to waste.
7:15 A.M.
In the stark white kitchen, Alicia reads Bradley a list of chores she wants him to do today monitor the housekeeping `bots that polish floors, clean windows, and make beds. Bradley, who was programmed with a southern-style voice synthesizer because it reminded Randolph of his Tennessee roots, acknowledges her commands with a burst of "You ain't nothin' but a Houndog", and Alicia, turning away smiling, is satisfied.
When the Smiths paid $100,000 and brought the 6-foot-tall robot home two years ago, they were not sure they would ever adjust to having it around. In fact, it had taken several weeks and some near-catastrophes (such as the time Bradley ordered dog food from the replicator instead of oat bran, and served it to everyone with milk for breakfast). But they eventually learned to input specific information the robot needed to function properly. Now Bradley is an irreplaceable part of their lives.
7:30 A.M.
Randolph joins the family for breakfast, and observes that the replicator has created customized "nutraceutical" meals for each family member that meets their nutritional and medical needs for the day. Nutraceutical foods, which originated in 2000, but have only become widespread since 2020, use special proteins that deliver drugs to targeted areas of the body to prevent disease. Tiny nano-capsules analyze the body's health condition and create a nutritional and health profile custom-designed for each family member including their allergies, nutritional deficiencies, etc. Nutraceutical foods are also tailor made to excite each person's taste buds.
Mike and Sandy begin "inhaling their breakfast as usual, when their mom says, "slow down gang, we're not going to the races". Carlotta makes her entrance with shocking news. Bolstered with her new-found youthful figure and looks, she tells everyone she is off today to audition for a cheer leader position on Las Vegas' new entry to the NBA The Desert Stars.
Trillionair Saul Allendale formed the team around genetically-rejuvenated stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird. Las Vegas fans have gone wild supporting their new team. Playoff fever reigns throughout the state.
This is the first season, and Carlotta hopes to gain a cheer leader slot. Sandy approves with a hip "way to go gran", and Mike throws her a high five. But Randolph is having a problem with his mom's new-found youth trip he feels she is a little too outgoing and too trusting. He can't quite pin it down, but he feels an impending danger. Casting intuitions aside, he reasons she will be OK.
8:00 A.M
Randolph swallows a "fitness" pill that provides all the benefits of a morning workout, plus guards his light skin not yet protected with rejuvenative therapy against the sunlight burning through a thinning ozone layer. He kisses Alicia, grabs highlight printouts of the New York Times and Las Vegas Sun/Journal, and heads out the door. Then he has a thought "Alicia, honey; let's meet for lunch and give ourselves a treat. How about La Caf St Pierre? I can be there by 12:30". Alicia says, "great, I'll see you there".
In the driveway, Randolph approaches his pride and joy a brand new driverless Andromeda 5000. The car door, receiving security OK from a chip implanted in Randolph's skin, opens automatically and the black leather interior quickly adjusts to Randolph's 6-foot-1 frame. After the power seat, mirror and control panel moves into place, Randolph settles down and voices his destination to the onboard computer.
Coasting down Belshire, the Andromeda noses onto Tropicana automatically snaking in and out of traffic, and in just eight minutes, turns onto Eastern for the final mile to the company parking lot.
8:15 A.M.
Back home, Mike is talking with his computer pen pal in China, Bingbing Xu, asking questions for his social studies project on life in another country. When the driverless school van appears on the house wall-screens, Mike hurriedly signs off without even hearing her answer to whether kids in Beijing listen to future-rock too. He grabs his "smart card" a PC about the size of a 3x5 card, which carries his educational history and dashes out of the house.
The trip to school is a short one, since Mike attends The New Concepts School, a small neighborhood public school with only 300 students, nestled near Reno and Jones. Mike's school is part of a pilot program started by the Las Vegas Unified School District to scale down school size and return the informality of community. Thanks to Direct Mind Information Transfer, educational opportunities have been greatly expanded.
Mike and his classmates walk into the homeroom and sit at their workstations. Susan Michael, their youthful teacher, queries each station to see which students completed their homework. Mike is not among them. Susan tells the students it's time for a lesson in ancient cultures. As she pushes a button, the walls, ceiling, and floor of the classroom, all large-screen displays portray a scene from the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala.
The students find themselves sitting inside a ceremonial plaza circa AD 550, surrounded by flat-top pyramids. When a student asks what Tikal looks like today, Susan hits a key and the computer displays photograph-quality images of the Mayan ruins, circa 2037. Mike takes advantage of the darkened room to torment arch-rival Robbie with a toy ultra-faser. It is quickly confiscated.
8:30 A.M.
On his way to the living room, Bradley tunes his powerful brain into the My Life Bits program to make sure each family member's daily activities are being recorded and stored properly. Recording every event in a person's life takes a huge amount of storage, but costs for this service are essentially zero in 2037. Life images are beamed through the air to an archive location using quantum cryptograph unbreakable making such transmissions totally secure.
Meanwhile Alicia enters the home com-center to begin her workday. She began telecommuting back at the turn of the century when her employer the same corporation Randolph works for realized it would increase employee productivity, and help alleviate transportation problems, by reducing work commutes.
Alicia communicates with co-workers and business associates scattered around the globe using holographic virtual reality (HVR), which provides a total "being there" feeling. Handshakes and an occasional pat-on-the-back are actually felt as if everyone were in the same room. As a medical information specialist, Alicia helps develop new world markets for her company.
This morning, she is trying to convince a new South African firm to expand distribution through her company. But just as she begins focusing on the figures, charts, and diagrams on her screen, there's a loud noise from the other room. Alicia runs into the living room to find that Bradley has accidentally backed into the antique side table, sending glass objects and mementos crashing to the floor. Alicia shrieks at the robot this is the third time this week he's done this! Once again, Alicia tells him to gather some nanobots to clean up the mess and make repairs.
Meanwhile on the way to work, Randolph has a problem. A police matter has brought transportation to a halt. About two blocks from the office, a blue-jump-suited robot police officer seemed to appear out of nowhere to stop the dented old auto-drive clunker ahead of him. When the officer fed the driver's biometric eye scan to Las Vegas Central Intelligence, something obviously hadn't measured up.
Within minutes, the police officer electronically "cloaked" the offender and sped away in the emergency electro-lane towing the empty driverless clunker. Later, Randolph learned from a wireless news feed, that the clunker's guidance system was defective. It was removed for safety reasons, because it posed a danger to other cars on the auto-drive roadways. Traffic finally began moving again, and Randolph soon arrived at the company parking facility.
9:00 A.M.
In Genetics 3, Mike and his classmates get a chance to study HVR images of gene combinations at their stations. Led by Ms. Michael, the students observe various combinations of gene engineering to see the changing affects on humans. They prepare for a seminar that Mike and his fellow sixth-graders will attend at a nearby genetic engineering lab. Mike, who thinks he'd rather be a rock star when he grows up, spends the period drawing guitars in his textbook.
Back at the Smith home, Bradley brings Carlotta her cheer leader costume from the replicator and says "you'll look smashing in this, Carlotta; it fits you perfect and has the team's bright purple and gold colors". Carlotta thanked the robot and asked him to schedule a driverless-taxi to pick her up in 30 minutes.
Bored from recent months of retirement, Carlotta is more than pleased with her new genetically-enhanced youthful body. Her energy level has surpassed her wildest expectations. Last week when she met with a career counselor, she considered two choices, to become an entrepreneur and start a new business in the information services field, or pursue an entertainment career beginning with the cheer-leader tryout for Las Vegas' new basketball team. The entertainment field seemed more attractive. She knows competition will be fierce, but confidence oozes through her veins.
Carlotta watched the driverless taxi pull up in from of the house and is surprised to see someone already sitting in the car. "I guess this is no big deal", she says to herself. "Sharing a ride could be fun. Who knows"? I could meet Mr. Right.
9:30 A.M.
On a rooftop shuttle ride to his office, located on the back of the company lot about 200 yards from the parking facility, Randolph observes a strikingly sophisticated skyline.
The advent of Las Vegas' status as a city that not only boasts the world's most advanced hi-tech gaming facilities, but in 2037, includes world-class office complexes which house more than 100 Fortune 500 company headquarters. Las Vegas has earned the reputation of being the most thriving desert city in America. Locals brag about their clean air, distinct weather seasons, and competitive living costs.
Walking through the doors of his plush, airy office a far cry from the cell-like office configuration of old Randolph greets Cara, his human interface manager. Looking up from her station, Cara tells Randolph that he missed his first meeting and the second meeting is about to begin.
Rushing into the com room, Randolph sees his impatient business associates two bankers in their Southeast Asia office appear to be seated at the table facing a theater-quality digital 3-D holographic screen, which illuminates the entire south wall of the office. Everyone is waiting for an announcement from corporate vice president Mark Demianew in London. Apologizing for being late, Randolph quickly directs an action thought to the conference system, and Froehler's holographic image pops into the room as though she were actually there. The four begin an animated discussion about purchasing assets from a bankrupt Thai textile company.
10:00 A.M.
Carlotta cautiously climbs into the taxi where she finds a handsome young man named Terry who says he recently moved from Seattle and lives just one block from the Smith house. Terry's robot had intercepted the taxi's computer as it approached the neighborhood and discovered it was headed for the Desert Stars facility, which is where Terry also wanted to go. Ride sharing was initiated after Carlotta and Terry's robots approved the event.
10:30 A.M.
Meanwhile, Sandy and her classmates find themselves in a simulated reality sci-fi class. They are on a trip aboard the starship Howling Circus, racing through space on a seven-year journey searching for an isolated brown dwarf star three light-years from Earth and, if all goes well, the first meeting with an alien civilization from another universe. "This is so real", Sandy thinks, as excitement begins to swell.
Recently, science created microscope-size nanobots that communicate with the brain, creating simulated realities indistinguishable from the real world. Sandy's school was selected to receive the first state-of-the-art programs, which achieve levels of reality similar to those, portrayed in last century's fictional Star Trek Holodeck. "Its break-time", the teacher interrupts "Computer, end program". Sandy looks around and tells her classmate, Alan Van Cleave, that she really felt like she was traveling through space. "I know what you mean", Alan replied. "I actually became space-sick".
Sandy's school, Las Vegas Nano-Metric High, is the latest educational experiment combining virtual reality with new nanotech-assisted realities. Although direct computer-to-brain uploads are expected to be available soon, most parents prefer nano-metrics which strives for an accurate learning experience achieved more naturally through simulated reality.
11:00 A.M.
Back at the com-center, Alicia discovers she must go to the nearest scramjet port, in Los Angeles, to meet Nicholas Kidman, a company executive arriving by scramjet from Sidney Australia. Scramjets super-combustion ram jets can take off, climb into outer space, and whiz around the Earth in minutes; then drop down to their destination. Scramjets can travel to anywhere on Earth in less than an hour. Kidman's one-hour flight arrives at noon, so Alicia must leave right away.
Alicia climbs into the family's auto-drive sports car, which is dual-equipped to drive on computerized "smart" roads, as well as high-speed "maglev" tracks. She makes the 60-minute 290-mile trip in time to meet Nicholas just as he steps off the scramjet. After the two exchange greetings, they head for Las Vegas to meet Alicia's boss at the facility where Randolph works.
Nicholas tells Alicia, at this important meeting, they hope to find solutions that will offset financial losses the company anticipates from the effects of nanotech replicators. After Nicholas mentions he plans to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas, Alicia invites him to a "home style" dinner at 7:00 P.M. at her house that evening. Nicholas accepts.
11:30 A.M.
At the Desert Stars facility, Carlotta begins practicing routines given her by the executive in charge of entertainers. After finishing, she notices a dark figure in the far corner of the room walking closer, while slowly applauding her performance. She finally sees that it's Terry, who explains he is Saul's father; is 105 years of age, and has also undergone genetic rejuvenative therapy.
Carlotta thinks "Wow I'll bet Bradley knew all along what he was doing. ` Way to go Bradley, you're quite the matchmaker". Terry tells Carlotta her routine was fabulous and he would like to know her better. He suggests a "free-road" trip that evening followed by dinner at the Las Vegas Nightery, a swank new place just off the strip.
Carlotta accepts the invitation and tells him she love "free-roading". Free roads are specially-designated streets and highways for manual driving only. Most auto-drive cars can also be driven manually, and many people especially the adventurous enjoy "putting the pedal to the metal" on occasion. Terry asks if he can pick her up at 5 O'clock and Carlotta says she will be waiting.
12:30 P.M.
After a busy morning, Alicia enters La Caf St Pierre and sees her friend, assistant manager Maria Juarez, at the door. Maria mentions that Randolph emailed that he would be a few minutes late, and suggested you order for him. "If you're willing to be adventurous", Maria says, "I recommend broiled albacore steaks marinated in a Napa Valley port. It's the latest rage".
Alicia tells her that sounds great. Randolph soon arrived, and as usual, lunch was fabulous and filling. Afterwards, they discuss Mike's problems in school. Bradley forwarded an email from Ms Michael saying that Mike was in danger of receiving failing grades. She outlined what will be necessary to turn the situation around.
Sharing a ride back to their offices, they wondered what will ever come of their "gifted" child. They selected neuronal enhancements for Mike at birth. There were no geniuses on either side of their families, and they thought it would be a great idea. But little did they realize that geniuses can experience a myriad of problems adjusting into society.
1:00 P.M.
As Sandy and her friend Alan enter the classroom, M35, an advanced robot teacher tells everyone to please be seated. Today, we will address issues relating to the use of electronic wombs, the teacher explains. Artificial wombs first entered the scene in 2020, and have since become extremely popular.
This controversial technology was originally created as an extensive care system to increase survival of unhealthy embryos. Later, however, these marvels were accepted as a legitimate birthing option for women who simply did not want to experience the discomfort of pregnancy. Advocates and opponents aggressively try to shower the public with their partisan views.
Public education forays into alternate birthing systems are heralded as a brilliant teaching experiment, and Sandy's school was selected as one of the first in the nation to receive the new curriculum. Educators hope that by enlightening parents on new technologies, the overall human experience will be advanced.
Sandy and Alan are impressed. "I know I'm only 15", Alan says, "but with today's science, I believe that soon only perfect children will be created. Technology has come a long way since our parent's day", he says. Sandy agrees, "2037 is the greatest time ever to be a teenager".
2:00 P.M.
Randolph arrives home just as Alicia is ending her workday. Nano-replicators have dramatically lowered living costs, reducing much of the need for income. Most people work about 20 hours or less each week. This gives everyone more time for family, friends, and recreation.
Excited about tonight's dinner with their Australian guest, Randolph and Alicia discuss the details. Social activities like this are becoming more popular and are literally changing the American recreational scene. People interact more with each other in 2037 than ever before in history. And the Smiths love it.
3:00 P.M.
Bradley challenges his master to a video game, but Randolph says no he wants to focus on tonight's dinner activity, and asks Alicia if she could use some help. Alicia assures him she does not need any help, but thanks him for asking. Randolph says "OK Bradley, show me your best"! They decide on Craig's Asteroids 2100, an upgrade of one of the oldest games in existence, and Randolph quickly wins. Bradley wants another chance, but Randolph says no, he needs to take a break.
4:00 P.M.
As Randolph relaxes in the den, he thought-clicks the Internet on. The terabyte-speed world-wide-web places images on all four walls, ceiling, and floor. It can access more than a trillion, trillion pages of information and display any movie or TV show ever produced.
Today, Randolph decides to watch the latest program in his favorite series: Techno Wonder The New Adventures of Nano-Man. Skipping through commercials and boring parts, he begins to wonder what it is he likes about this dumb program. After feeling much too bored, he turns to an international network news program to learn the latest in world happenings.
5:00 P.M.
Terry pulls up in front of the Smith house in his new hybrid auto-manual-drive sports car. "You are so punctual", Carlotta comments, as Bradley invites Terry into the house. "Oh, you shouldn't have", Carlotta says, as she accepts the beautiful yellow roses Terry hands her. The two can hardly conceal their excitement anticipating this first date, and decide to leave Carlotta tells Terry she will introduce him to her family later.
"Free road area 29", Terry voices into the car's computer and off they go. In about 10 minutes, the car computer announces, "entering manual drive road" and the two begin a journey that Carlotta will remember forever.
5:15 P.M.
As Terry heads downhill on a long straight stretch, Carlotta glances at the speedometer "holy cow", she says; "Terry, do you realize we are doing 150"? Terry says "no problem, this baby will do even more if I let it". Suddenly appearing from nowhere, a sports car approaches driving on the wrong side of the road. Before they can even think, Carlotta hears a huge explosion as the two cars crash. An eerie silence covers the area.
5:30 P.M.
It seems an eternity passes before Carlotta's eyes open at Las Vegas General Hospital. The first sight she sees is her family Randolph, Alicia, Sandy, and Mike. "We were all so worried", Alicia said. "For a while, the doctors were not sure the new experimental cell-repair mechanisms would work, but when we saw all your vital facilities returning, we new the machines were successful and we watched your body as it was being rebuilt, cell by cell. It was like magic. We all jumped for joy; we were so thankful. Mom, you gave everyone quite a scare".
Randolph, responding to Carlotta's look of concern, told her that Terry did not make it. His body was so destroyed in the crash, that nanobots could not revive enough cells to begin life-saving procedures. Terry died, Randolph told his mother. As tears swelled in Carlotta's eyes, Alicia told her to not blame herself. "Terry must surely have known what he was doing. For reasons we may never know, this probably happened for a purpose. Only time will tell".
The driver of the other car was also killed in the crash. Officials found both black boxes recording systems similar to those used by airlines, which are installed in all vehicles. A thorough investigation revealed the wrong-way driver was under the influence of a new mind-altering virtual reality virus. The illegal virus gathers pleasant memories from its host and amplifies happy feelings, but sometimes makes the user confused.
"How awful", Carlotta says. "With all our modern science and technologies in 2037, people still get hooked on illegal drugs that cause death". She wonders if this kind of destruction will ever end. Seeing that Carlotta is physically OK and had regained emotional stability, Alicia reminded everyone about their guest coming to dinner at 7 O'clock, and the family headed for home in the hospital's driverless van.
7:00 P.M.
As the replicator cooks dinner pasta, salmon filets, and an assortment of organic vegetables, Bradley unleashes nanobots that quickly create a dining room fit for royalty a handsome oak table with matching padded chairs illuminated under a beautiful 20th century chandelier, and original china dinnerware pieces.
Alicia fears the dinner won't be perfect, but Bradley assures her everything is in order, and it will be a perfect evening. The house security system announces a visitor approaching the front door, and confirms that it is Nicholas. The front door opens and the house audio system delivers a verbal "come in, Mr. Kidman". "Nicholas, I would like you to meet my family", Alicia says, as she introduces her guest.
The dinner was a huge success. Nicholas complimented Alicia on her wonderful food selections, and asked her to email the salmon recipe. After the meal, the smiths entertain in the recreation room by calling up a new state-of-the-art simulation game. Nicholas enjoyed it so much, Alicia decided to replicate a copy and give it to him as a gift.
9:00 P.M.
Sandy asks her parents if she can talk with them about a personal matter. Randolph looks a little uncomfortable, but he agrees. Sandy wants their permission to have some of her eggs frozen for use at a later time should she decide to create a child. After talking about all the responsibilities of being a parent, and how frustrating it can become on occasion, they tell her that she has their permission. Sandy happily thanks them.
11:30 P.M.
As another day finally brings its long-awaited retreat, Alicia and Randolph lie in bed exhausted after the ordeal with Carlotta. They are thankful she is OK and hope she will not be quite so bold in the future. Then they talk about what a fabulous dinner they put on for Nicholas. "He was really impressed", Randolph tells his wife. "You were a great hostess".
Finally, the conversation rolls over to Mike. Should they cut back on his recreation activities until he improves his grades? Alicia's not sure. For now, she just wants to sleep. Groggily, Randolph gives his wife a good night hug and warm kiss, grabs the Smart House remote, and punches a few buttons. House lights begin to dim, outside doors lock, and the security system and fire alarm click on. The Smiths are fast asleep within minutes.
12:00 Midnight
Finished with his duties, Bradley performs a last minute silent double-check on house security, practices a silly, human-like grin, and quietly stores himself into a closet.
This piece, written 04/24/2012 will appear in various print media and blogs; comments welcome. See other articles by Dick at http://www.positivefuturist.com; click the "published work" tab.
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