The Age of Empowerment
A Short Story imagining what may be possible in the near future
Last updated
A Short Story imagining what may be possible in the near future
Last updated
Donna woke up at 9 am as she does each morning. She began by asking Simon (her AGI assistant) to "start her morning routine". The shower started and automatically adjusted to the temperature she prefers. As she powered off the shower the coffee maker started pouring her cup of delicious Jamaican High Mountain coffee. As she walked towards the glass doors leading to the back deck, the doors slid open and through the speakers on the deck a voice calmly described "Good morning Donna, it is a beautiful 70 degrees this morning with a forecast of clear skies making the beautiful Napa valley hills great for viewing from this angle. Is there anything you want or need assistance with this morning outside of your normal routine?"
Donna walked up and sat down on the chair close to the guard rail of the deck admiring the rolling hills in the distance as she considered not just what she needed today, but what she wanted. She recalled her grandkids coming over the prior weekend and mentioning to her that they "wished that Grandma Donna had a pool for them to swim in". This gave her an idea. She responded to Simon's question "Absolutely Simon, could you have the fleet build a pool here in the backyard where the garden is, please replant the flowers on the other side of the backyard?" Simon responded "Yes mam. We do not have any cement for pouring I found some available in stock at a local hardware store. It is going to cost $2,000 USD to have the cement we need, are you okay with me making this purchase with the card you have stored?" Donna replied "Absolutely!".
The garage door began to open and a fleet of robots (about 10) emerged from their underground storage units. They took flight and picked up the order of cement from the hardware store. As soon as they returned they began digging a perfectly symmetrical hole in the ground, then poured the cement.
Donna watched them work as she sipped her coffee and ate sour dough toast. She could change camera angles and view the feed through an app on her tablet. As the robots finished the initial structure and cement pour, Donna was inspired to add a water fall to the pool. She spoke into the tablet's mic "Fleet can you please add a waterfall to this pool inspired by Niagra falls?".
The fleet built a medium size structure that looked like a mini Niagara falls. The fleet finished the pool before 4 pm and Donna was elated. All 10 robots hovered back to their underground storage units to recharge their batteries and await orders.
Simon asked "Miss Donna are you happy with the pool?". Donna responded "I love it and so to will my grand children."
