HackVerse 3.0: FUTURE IN SPACE

Beep, beep, beep … the sound of sirens kept amplifying with every beep. Cody slowly opened their eyes. Around them were creatures they had not seen before, and they looked at Cody with relieved and welcoming expressions. There were wires connecting Cody to very sophisticated machines, and it suddenly struck them that they were not where they were meant to be. Something about the creatures reminded them of their friends on Earth, but Cody realised that they were elsewhere.

Cody was told that they were found floating aimlessly in space and so were rescued and brought into this spaceship. Space? And a spaceship? Cody could not believe that they were with aliens! They tried to recollect what had happened.

Cody remembered the thrilling underwater expedition they had embarked upon during HackVerse 2.0. After that rousing quest, they had begun to swim back to the surface and put themself on automatic mode in order to get some rest. But the rest lasted a bit too long, long enough to cross the Earth’s atmosphere and take them to space! Cody was a bit embarrassed, but the prospect of another adventure thrilled them. They began to thoroughly enjoy their time on the spaceship, visiting different planets and learning more about their extraterrestrial friends.

“APPROACHING EARTH,” came a robotic voice, and a screen flashed the same. Cody could not control their excitement and was the first to alight from the spaceship to see their home planet.

What Cody witnessed was an entirely different world. High rise buildings with an interconnected framework of skywalks, cars that hovered around like drones, technological marvels that Cody had never imagined would be possible! Everything they came across was fascinating and facilitated a very user-friendly experience. Cody soon came across a cosy café. It had a pleasant ambience and was filled with people, but something seemed strange. The people there had peculiar headsets on and were sitting all by themselves. On enquiry, Cody found that it was a café where people met and talked to each other virtually using VR headsets. A feeling of sorrow began to creep in as Cody recollected the wonderful moments they had spent with their creators and buddies; they missed being with them. Where were they now, and why did the Earth seem so different?

On seeing Cody’s confusion, the aliens explained to them that this Earth was one of the alternative futures of the Earth that Cody had been on. To explain further, they decided to take them to a few other alternative futures of Earth.

This time, the spaceship landed near a half-built school. Broken benches and tables were scattered around what seemed like a playground. The environment was dusty, and the town seemed to be facing the aftermath of complete chaos. Cody observed a sense of timidity in the atmosphere. Everyone appeared to be minding their own business, yet there was a rush in their step. Cody could not make sense of anything they saw and got back into the spaceship to escape the disturbing world.

Soon, they came across another future Earth. On getting down from the spaceship, Cody found themself standing in front of a beautiful greenhouse filled with a wide variety of plants. There was a long queue outside and Cody was excited and curious to know why. But what they saw frightened them; the signboard at the entrance read “FRESH OXYGEN FOR $10 AN HOUR”. They went on to find that there were many such crowded oxygen booths all over the town. They were relieved that they did not need air to survive. But then what about their buddies, their HackVerse participants whom they loved so much? Would they have to be a part of this?

After returning to the spaceship, Cody thought deeply about what could be done to save the Earth from such terrifying futures. They realised that the future is what we make it. Whether a utopian future or a dystopian one, it is in our hands. It is made up of all the tiny steps we take now, in the present. Today’s ideas will build tomorrow’s world. The future will be what we build together.

And so … Cody is here to cheer you on as you embark upon your space adventure, on your journey to build our future.