Part 4: 2034-2036
/— 2034 —
Hi love,
As promised, the first physical letter I have written in over a decade! Do you like my handwriting? I hope this reaches you in time – the Californian postal service is stretched to the max, as you might imagine. The floods hardly even seemed that dramatic, until the internet suddenly shut down across the entire city. Then there was panic in the streets!
I know everyone is saying the same thing, but you really don't realise how much you use the internet until it's gone. If there's one thing I have learned about San Francisco, however, it's that it is resilient. People here have really learned how to adapt in recent years. In the last two days, sales of old-fashioned mobile phones have gone through the roof. Couriers are running around the city everywhere with printed documents. Entire districts have turned into cash-lending enterprises, charging extortionate rates of interest, naturally.
Of course, the internet hasn't gone completely. There's still satellite signal, but now that every device in the city is trying to connect to it, it's all getting blocked up and going at a snail's pace. Plus it's not just the cables that have been damaged, it's a whole bunch of servers, too. I don't know the details (nobody does yet!) but I hear the impacts might affect people all across the world. What have you heard about it?
I am writing this in a crowded bar. Nobody is on their phone; they're either talking, or watching the cable TV in the corner. It's strange! As you can probably guess, I've had to abandon the article; all the Silicon Valley executives are running around like headless chickens, and an interview with me must be the last thing on their minds. I am going to leave the city tomorrow and head upstate until my return flight is due, assuming they get the airport back in order soon. Somehow, road transport still going on as normal. Most of the traffic lights are being operated by hand or on some sort of short-range frequency. In any case, I have my paper bus ticket ready, so nothing can stop me!
As for me, I'm not so badly affected. I don't mind not being able to browse social media; the main problem is I can't access my bank account, not unless I spend half the day waiting in a queue at the bank. Fortunately, I had taken out fifty dollars cash and had prepaid the hotel, so I have had enough to get by for a day or two if I eat cheaply. There are plenty of people that have not been so lucky. There have been a few riots, mostly about money, but I have steered clear. Not worth getting involved.
I had word from my parents in Barcelona before the internet outage – the city hit 'Day Zero' last week. Their main desalination plant malfunctioned, so the city is now importing fresh water from France at huge expense. All the new border controls are only exacerbating things. The world really is falling apart, isn't it?
Feel free to reply by email. I should have internet back this time tomorrow, with any luck. In fact, I expect I will have sent you a message before this letter reaches you!
Love,
Maria x
Hi my lovely Maria,
Just got your letter! Thanks for the email note too – good to know you're back in the land of the connected. The news reports are disturbing; we really have put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to internet, haven't we? It sounds like it'll be a real challenge for the tech bods to recover the data stored on those servers. And although it was San Fran's Wi-Fi that went down, the data loss is spread pretty evenly – just whatever happened to be on the servers at the time of the flood. I've checked our photos in the Cloud, just in case, and they're all still there. Those Venice ones in particular I cherish, and our wedding photos too (almost a decade ago, can you believe it?). I've backed everything up onto a hard drive, which I should have done years ago really.
As far as I can tell most people here haven't been affected. Marcus said Jordan lost his Robocraft account, which apparently is a big deal if you're twelve, but other than that life goes on as normal. But it does shake things up a bit, something like that, doesn't it? It reminds everybody just how flimsy our societal supports can be.
Hope your parents are doing OK. They got in touch with me, actually, when they heard about the SF outage, seeing if I'd heard from you. Obviously, I couldn't tell them much at the time, other than reassure them. It was a bit difficult to interpret their email – I feel like your mum's English is getting worse again. Could it be an age thing? They always seem so switched on when we video call.
My parents have also been affected by the Spain thing. Dad's had to ration his meds – the pharmaceutical company that makes them is based in Spain. Because water prices have gone up, so have the medicine prices, and the Reading hospital has raised their fees accordingly. He just can't afford it – but half doses don't really cut it with cancer. I think we should chip in, but wanted to get your take on it first.
In better news, our darling daughter is doing great, although of course she misses you. We called in on Marcus and Jules last week and she absolutely adored Ferdinand – although I'm not sure the feeling was mutual, there was a lot of tail pulling! Do you think we should get a new pet soon, now that Mothy's been gone a while, or would that be too much work? M and J both fine, by the way, just getting stressed by wedding planning as you might imagine.
Bella says she'd like to talk to you and show you some art she's done – maybe video call if the connection is strong enough?
Love,
Jonah x
— 2035 —
Hi love,
I'm writing this from a train zipping through the Polish countryside. The views are magnificent! I must admit it beats flying, even if it takes five times as long. I thought I would envy Bertram and Joanna, who are currently jetting off to Japan to report on the country's data tech takeover bid, but actually I can't complain. Do you remember me mentioning a couple of years ago, predicting that Fred would start rationing the company's flights soon? It took him longer than I expected.
I don't know what to expect in Moscow really. The main story for Russia is the new 'corn belt' that has sprung up in Siberia in recent years, which I have heard is really bringing in the cash, especially now so many countries near the equator are struggling to grow anything much. And that is on top of all the new shipping corridors that have opened up in the Arctic. What that has meant for quality of life in the cities, it's hard to see the truth through all the propaganda. Then, of course, there's this upcoming moon mission as well, which I suppose ties in with the whole newfound affluence story. I wonder what this means for global power balance, especially since the US has been suffering so much recently?
I'm a little worried about Michael. He's sitting opposite me at the moment, looking very glum. He comes from a Welsh farming family and all the government cuts have hit them hard. I don't know what to say; the huge agriculture subsidies have just depleted soils across the UK, as far as I can see, so maybe it's for the best in the long term? Obviously, I can't say that to him, though.
How are your parents settling in? Has your mum got used to the stairlift? It was a pain getting it installed, so I hope she appreciates it. And they had better be doing their share of the cooking too! I am sure Bella loves having them around, though. They do dote on her, far more than my parents ever have. And have you asked for a pay rise yet? We really could do with it.
I know this is a long trip, but I'll be thinking of you all as always.
Love,
Maria x
My gorgeous Maria,
You must be seeing a fair bit of Europe! I've never gone further east than Germany, and I must say I regret it – it would have been so easy to travel around when I was younger, when the world was safer and more connected. Having had a quick look at flight prices I can see why Fred sent you by rail. Looks like Moscow is putting huge tariffs on flights – I guess they don't need tourist income so much anymore!
I was watching a load of videos about geopolitics the other day, actually. You probably know all this but I learnt a lot, so I'm going to write it anyway! Interestingly, it looks like Canada could replace the US any year now as the top 'Western' power. They've been benefitting just like Russia: better agricultural conditions, new Arctic sea routes, all the rest of it. Their population is also exploding, mostly due to immigration from the US as the seaboard states have started to empty, but that seems to actually be doing favours for their economy. Elsewhere, China's economy has stagnated, slightly linked to the collapse of the EU and the USA's withdrawal of trade agreements, but mostly down to crop failures. Isn't it strange how you never seem to see any of this on the regular news sites!
Mum and Dad are fine, although already getting on my nerves a little bit. It's not a big house for five people – I hope they can find somewhere else soon. The doctors say the cancer is regressing, which is a good sign for Dad's health and our wallets, but that's what they said last year too. Mum is spending a lot of time on the balcony, I think just to escape from it all. She's been watching all the barges going by, carrying the repairs for the Thames Barrier downstream ready for the next storm season. The river has got very noisy lately, not the peaceful stretch it was when we first moved in!
As you predict, Bella is loving having them around. It's nice to not have to worry about babysitters if I get home from work late. She's still enjoying school, too, and her teacher seems very sweet. She is starting to get a bit sassy, however – talking back all the time! I wonder where she gets that from…
And no, I haven't asked yet about the pay rise. It's not a good time. Work is thin on the ground and Emma is on the rampage. Hopefully it'll pick up soon.
Love,
Jonah x
— 2036 —
Hey my love,
I've finally made it to Davos! The beginning of the journey was a nightmare. As you probably heard, there were rail strikes across France, but with a little bluffing Bertram and I managed to get seats on the only train leaving Paris for a week. Once we passed through passport control at the Swiss border things got a lot smoother, with some stunning views of the Alps. Bertram commented that I was quite subdued in the train; I think the scenery reminded me of the Dignitas trip.
Davos is something else. The town is a montane paradise, nestled amongst snow-capped peaks. There hasn't been snow in the actual town for a few years now, but I used a free day to take a hike up past the treeline and feel the fresh snowfall crunch beneath my feet. We must take Bella somewhere with snow soon. They still get it up in the Scottish Highlands. A little family adventure?
Of course, the people here at the moment aren't quite so agreeable. Security is ultra-tight after the Ricardo Montoya assassination last year, and it's getting quite tiresome having my journalist wrist chip scanned at every street corner. The conferences themselves have shown a little more movement than usual; surprisingly, the new US President is driving the circular economy talks, presumably provoked by the Midwest's New Dust Bowl. So who knows, maybe there will be some proper action at last!
I hope everything at home is alright. How is your mother? Please give her all my love – I hate to leave you all at a time like this. I know that sort of thing never quite heals, but the passage of time helps. I had a friend at school who committed suicide – I know it's not the same thing – but I felt guilty about it for months; but looking back on it there was nothing I could have done. I'm glad it wasn't like that with your father. I thought the euthanasia clinic was so sensitive about it all, and it was so painless in the end. He probably spared himself a lot of suffering.
The forecast says you're in for some more bad weather soon. Storm Mike, they're calling it. Make sure to get the furniture in from the balcony. Bella's new purple wellies are under the stairs if you need them.
Love,
Maria x
Maria
I should have phoned but I can't bring myself to. I'm so sorry. The storm surge broke through the Thames Barrier when Bella and I were on the way to the shops. She was swept out to sea. Our darling daughter is gone.
Come home please.