Just another year. You get up, no thanks to the annoying alarm clock beside your bed. You're sitting down. Breakfast time. Oatmeal or something like it. Who knows what's actually untouched these days? Probably nothing. We've all been eating plastic for years. God know's what else. God? Yeah. Evangelists will talk to you about that. As you ponder, think, daydream, dread the coming work-day, your eyes glance over the Federal-Installed Security System. FISS. It's been there for a few years now. Everyone's got one. Oh, yeah, sounds real good. No more Slomen's. It's all government run. There's a few more gadgets though. It's not only security, but also surveillance. When you enter the house, when you exit the house. Sure, you're no terrorist, but it's only fair, and it's only safe. "Surveillance IS Security", the slogan had pronounced years ago. This had been a common saying among the patriots. Many were patriots these days. Things had gone bad to worse. Those unpatriotic saps were always going out and causing crime. They snapped, ran out and shot someone in the head, drove explosives into a F.I.S.S. building. Yeah. At least, that's what they've told you. It was all for the best, of course. You put on your work clothes, get ready, hop in your 'fuel efficient' car. They still chant about that. A safe planet. A safe earth. A stable eco-system. Even so, most of the Amazon is eaten up by now, there are oil drills in Alaska and many other 'preserves' for wildlife. But, as a famous politician had been preaching recently, 'If we want to save nature, we need to first save ourselves. How are we going to help the environment if our civilization collapses? We must push further. We must seek a stable economic and technological position in order to become more active with our planet's welfare. If we are sick, how can we cure the Earth?" It's all sick to you. At any rate. Off to job. You'd love to start your own business, but that's a rarity these days. Small shops aren't around the big cities anymore. Everything is big business. Everything. There are no small businesses, literally. Oh, what a coincidence: There's one. You pass it on your way to work. It's an abandoned building. Right on a parkway. Nothing special, just a little flower shop. The rest of the 'shopping center' has been knocked down. This building stands alone, but it will probably disappear too. It will share the same fate, be replaced by a bigger trademark shopping mall. Those are famous these days. No small-time names. It's a shame. Things used to be so different. There's something quaint about that little place. It's dirty, for sure. But the vines have overgrown the shop. A tree even has broken through the glass windows, reaching around the building for the sun. Beautiful. Such a nice little place, especially now, in the sunrise.
It could use more details. Little bits of information that make the image of the future seem complete, to provide a more real experience. It would make the feeling of things changing more meaningful.
