June 16, 2357.
I woke up to see sunshine streaming through my window. I pressed a button and robotic arms sprang out of the walls to brush my teeth, comb my hair, give me a bath and change my clothes. Once I was ready, I opened my bedroom door and my pelican, Pelliper, greeted me.
I seated myself at the dining table and said, “Cereal, milk and a bowl of fresh fish.” Again a set of robotic arms sprang out, this time to make breakfast.
I decided to go for a walk with Pelliper after breakfast. I got on my flying scooter which looked like a skateboard with handlebars attached with an oxygen mask. You can’t breathe the polluted air as you would die in a few seconds. Even water was scarce. I had a built-in water-cum-oxygen supply.
After the walk, it was time to head home. I pressed a button that said ‘TIME’. A hologram appeared, showing the time 10:20 a.m. and I glided to my house.
Once I was home, I ran to the ultraputer and logged on to the Worldnet. I checked and saw that today at Skruell, where we learnt Math, Science, Geography, Physics and English, the first class – History – was at 9.30 p.m. “We have time. Let’s got to the zoo,” I said.
At the zoo, there were many common animals and some rare ones too. The signboards read:
Tiger
Population: 1
Diet: Meat
This highly endangered species was common, 100 years ago. There were close to 10,000 tigers in India. A decade later, there were only 400! Their population has dwindled ever since.
Panda
Population: 3
Diet: Bamboo, Grass etc.
This bear eats only bamboo. They were genetically modified to eat almost any plant 150 years ago. But, for reasons unknown, their population also dwindled.
Steelgator
Population: 1 million
Diet: Grease, motor oil etc.
These deadly steel alligators were created by a mad scientist. Though its diet consists of grease and motor oil, it eats just about anything. It was one of the key reasons India won the Third World War against Japan.
Pelliper squawked madly. I ignored Pelliper and read on.
Jelly-fliers
Population: 3 million
Diet: Petrol, Diesel
These jelly-fish were made to fly when one of them ate a flying saucer by mistake. Since then, it has been a regular and controllable body part of these weird creatures. Note: Highly poisonous. Fatal, if consumed.
Pelliper squawked even more, so I said, “Fine, we’ll go now.” Pelliper flew away for a while and came back with what I assumed were jelly-fliers. I looked at the time on my cycle — 9:15pm. “It’s time for History,” I said and zoomed home.
Once I reached home, I logged on to Skruell and learnt in History class that a 10-year-old boy had written in 2013, what would happen in 2357. It was the best class ever!
Later as I was reading about jelly-fliers, I understood they were poisonous. I ran to my bedroom and pressed a button under my bed. A battered radio set appeared. I set the various tuners to 10.00 a.m. and pressed ‘play’. A time warp appeared and I went back in time.
The writer is a student of class V in Isha Home School, Coimbatore
