FUTURE FORETOLD

INTERLUDE: IN THE YEAR 2121

THE FUTURE

Hi,

In the year 2121.

48 pods in two square miles

You can call me Bub, because I have no name as you know names, and I have a family that will seem strange to you, for I have 36 parents and 36 brothers and sisters. All of us live in a very big house, which spreads out to almost a whole city block. It is a one-story building with 12 bedrooms and 12 baths. We call our building a pod (like peas in a pod, seeds in a pod, and even some aquatic mammals live in a pod). We live in a group nestled together in a pod living productive and prosperous lives. Our home (building) measures about 150,000 square feet with 12 separate apartments. Each apartment measures 6250 square feet. We have plenty of room for our family.

Our bedrooms are 25 feet by 25 feet, and our bathrooms measure the same. The bedrooms and bathrooms are adjoining, and they run East and West. To the south of these rooms, we have our exercise rooms. They measure 25 feet by 50 feet. Each exercise room has a jacuzzi, a sauna, showers, and exercise equipment. There are 12 of these in our pod. All of our exercise rooms are adjacent to each other running east and west using an open bay layout with no walls in between.

To the south of our exercise rooms, we have our dinette areas and our family rooms. This area measures 50 feet by 50 feet. We have refrigerators and stoves so we can cook and eat in our apartment if we want to. Most of the time we eat in the cafeteria that's only a block away from us, and where most of our community eat their meals. Our family room consists of sofas, chairs, places to play games, TVs to watch, and music to listen to. This is where our family gathers to relax and play. All of our dining areas and family rooms are adjoining our neighbors' dining areas and family rooms running east and west with no walls. All of our rooms, except our bedrooms and bathrooms, are built with open space bay planning, meaning there is a minimal amount of walls between each apartment. We believe in sharing our living spaces inside our pod.

To the south of our family rooms, we have our enclosed veranda area measuring 25 feet by 50 feet for each of the 12 apartments in our pod with no walls between apartments. With no walls, you can start at one end of our pod and walk to the other end, 600 feet away. We dislike walls between our apartments. If we open our windows in the veranda, it gets extremely breezy.

Besides 36 parents and 36 brothers and sisters, we have an extended family of over 3000 within two square miles. 3456, to be exact, living in 48 pods with the same measurements as ours. For an example, look at the picture below. This extended family of over 3,000 we call our Clan. In the very center of our Clan is our shopping center with many different stores and recreational shops. Surrounding our shopping center is our school. Immediately surrounding the school are 20 pods that our school-age children live in. Children start going to school at age four. 36 children live in each of the 20 pods that surround the school. 36 birth parents live in each of the 20 pods also. That's a total of 720 children attending this one school.

Surrounding the children's 20 pods are 28 pods for the grandparents, relatives, and friends of the family of the 720 children. We surround our children with as much love and support as possible. Each of the 20 pods for the children is dedicated to a different age group. For instance, building one has 36 children from prenatal to age four. Building two has 36 children aged five. Building three has 36 children aged six. And this continues consecutively until the last building 20 which contains 36 young adults ages 23 and up. Every child, up to the age of 24, grows up with 35 other children their age and their birth parents and 34 pod parents. This is our Pod Family. 72 members for one Pod Family, all living in the same apartment building. The government supplies our housing and utilities, so there is no rent.