Study: History
Report title: Earth, 3500 a.d.
Monotony was the order of the day, as usual. Scores of individuals heading towards a long day of the seemingly endless chores of life; the skyways, as congested as they were the day before.
Somewhere over the past millennium, humans had finally figured out how to manipulate an existence that had only been theorized by scientists a few centuries earlier.
"Graviton", this was the name given to a subatomic particle whose movements were correlated to the force generated by gravity. Ironically, it was first observed and named by the world renowned eccentric human physicist, Isaac C. Neuton. He first discovered that, similar to electromagnetic waves, the entire Earth was actively surrounded by a dense gravity field comprised of these subparticles. Gravitons were also noted to be indefinitely generated by- and were in a state of constant movement to and from the Earth's core, with the net movement of particles being towards the core. This, he accurately theorized, ensured that the planet's inhabitants remained for the most part, 'firmly grounded' within the confines of Earth's atmosphere. Further trials by the physicist a few years later shockingly revealed that Gravitons were not only found in, and emitted by, other large celestial bodies but were also present -in almost negligible amounts- in both living organisms and other inanimate object.
Flabbergasted by the findings, the eccentric Neuton remarked,
"With the discovery of Gravitons, naturally our next step will be trying to find a way to harness its potential for the advancement of mankind. Think of all the possibilities, the need for fuel for space travel, or at some point local travel would be significantly reduced! Everyone I am even more delighted to say that at this point, the possibility of us being the ones up in the air taking a shit on those damn birds' heads... seems to be within our grasp!!"
Just two decades later, a groundbreaking multitrillion dollar global research lead to the development of technological equipment that was capable of storing, manipulating, amplifying and even emitting this seemingly endless supply of particles using a man-made metal alloy, befitingly named Gravanium. The unveiling of this alloy swept nations off their feet - figuratively, at the time of course - and in less than a decade after the creation of Gravanium, anti-gravity items had flooded the markets.
It started with simple, but highly expensive cubes which contained a gravanium core. Depending on the setting applied, an electrogravitational current could alter the net movement of Gravitons that could cause objects less than 0.5kg to hover at least twelve inches over the cube itself, or cause the attraction of any and all objects weighing less than 0.5kg towards itself within a twelve inch radius. Then, actual hoverboards that stored and recycled enough Gravitons to keep anyone under 200kg at least four inches off the ground; vehicles followed shortly after.
Technological advancement continued non stop, and in approximately three centuries after Gravanium's creation, a worldwide official opening ceremony was held to commemorate the final piece being put into place. There were now entire cities hovering effortlessly above ground; thousands of kilometers of high density Gravanium pipe networks above ground and spanning every major landmass. Carving various paths in the sky (which were then renamed skyways) simulating the sidewalks, roads and railways our ancestors once used for land travel. Travel between 'both worlds' was simply a matter of purchasing an anti gravity item. Finally the soaring age of humankind had started, the excitement was uncontrollable.
Similar to the creation of a new star, however, the excitement eventually died down and life returned to a sense of normalcy for mankind albeit from an irregular source; It all happened when a year later, on Skyway Anniversary Day, a mere teen-aged human with little or no care for her ancestors' hard work, her history nor the sheer brilliance of this technology at the time, queried on public broadcasting,
"How is all of this any different than what we did on the ground?"
It was ultimately bound to happen though, everyone had accepted that. The result of such a comment caused everyone to become too embarrassed to admit being amazed and excited about going for 'air walks' using footwear integrated with miniature propulsion systems, though crude at the time, had managed to somewhat imitate, with infrequent errors, the corresponding magnitudes of friction and resistance with every step allowing one to walk, run and jump in midair if there were invisible platforms present- literally walking on air.
Surprisingly, only a few human individuals really questioned how Gravanium was created, mass produced and being implemented into devices for worldwide use in a relatively short period of time; humans had become very complacent and even more easily manipulated through the media. No one paid attention to the alarming pace at which technology was being developed- save a few conspiracy theorists and religious leaders who were continuously written off as deluded; most persons simply believed that this was the result of mankind simply focusing on a single goal, and moving forward together. Mankind progressed rapidly towards a bright future without inhibition.
However, even in this seemingly wondrous world where extraordinary technology and feats have become an ordinary occurrence, there were secrets that would ultimately result in the very breakdown in the fabric of society.
JE LEEST
EXILED
Sciencefiction"I can still remember the day. An entire fleet that made anything we thought we knew a joke. Most of us were speechless at the sequence of events that occurred during that time: The mere fact that us humans were never 'alone' on this planet, or in t...
