In the Year 2889 is a story following a life in the day of Mr. Smith, the head newspaper editor of the Earth Chronicle. It was written in 1889 which you need to remember as you read about his predictions. The book is attributed to Jules Verne, but there is a good chance that it was mostly written by his son, Michael Verne.The storyline focuses on the technological advancements of the future year and how they affect Mr. Smith’s life. It should be noted that Mr. Smith is incredibly wealthy and the average person might not be affected by technology in quite the same way.
Verne, whichever one actually wrote this book, had incredible foresight about how technology would advance in the future, however he did have some things very wrong. The concept of nationalism had only been around for about 100 years, and this might show in Verne’s interpretation of the world. His “nations” would be better described as empires. The Americas are represented by the 100 United States, France controls Africa and part of Europe, Russia controls most of Europe all the way to India. China controls the land north of India and encroaches on Russia’s borders. Australia is apparently separate. Interestingly, the British islands are a colony of America. Newspapers are in audio format and interactive, rooms can be mechanical and change into whatever function you need. Your bedroom can also be your bathroom and dining room. Food is transported through tubes. Painting is obsolete in 2889 because of the invention of color photography. It is suggested that room can be created for more land by melting the ice caps.
Verne also got some things right though! For example, control of the weather was accomplished, which we see today through cloud seeding. The media has the real power in the world. Shameless advertising exists and ads are even projected onto clouds. He predicts “electric computers” which is what he calls them. These are really just big calculators. He predicts the two main forms of transportation over a distance are flying and high speed trains in tubes. A type of Skype exists, he calls it telephoto. It transmits audio and visual over a distance. He even predicts the so called “skype date” when he eats dinner with his wife over the telephoto simultaneously. Russia uses long distance shells and biological weapons in warfare. They also use long distance electric shock in war, which does not exist. There is a hydroelectric powerplant at Niagra falls. There is also a radio like thing in existence. They are about to figure out something like the unified theory of everything. And when they do they will attempt to replicate human life.
Overall the book was very short and interesting. It was not too much more than a description, but it did go a little deeper if you look closely. While Mr. and Mrs. Smith tried to eat meals together, they were never actually able to because their schedules were more important. This suggests the impersonal nature of social interactions as technology becomes more prevalent. There’s also an interesting message about the power of the media.
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