World at your Bay

Courtesy http://blog.flickr.net

I wake up to the soothing chants of Suprabatham by M.S. Subbalakshmi playing in the background. Well it was 6 a.m. and I opened my eyes to be greeted by the sun streaming into my room. The curtains had parted and the mood in the room was transformation, well that was the setting I had done yesterday night before falling asleep.  My faithful domestic, Jasper knocks the door with a steaming cup of coffee.

I sip into the hot decaffeinated drink with 3 spoons of sugar, exactly as I desire. The sensors had picked up my mood and the settings of the room changed to tranquility. Jasper moves around the room and sets the bed in a jiffy. The climate of the house is controlled by the domestic network. Today it is warm hence the temperature had been brought down automatically.              I am in mood for some heavy work out. I step out of my room and walk few steps to enter my playground. Well this is where I exercise and play games.  I indulge in some stretches, warm up and later enter the tennis court. I play my strokes for the next one hour taking breaks in between. While I play this virtual game the sensors have been reading my stats and also checking for abnormal signs. This has been fed into the local health care network. Though I have managed to keep myself fit over the years I miss the hum drum and human activity around me.              I check myself in the mirror to find grey strands around my temples. I have reached the golden jubilee of my life. Over the years life has changed dramatically. I take a shower and walk down the stairs to the dining room. Jasper has already set the table with my breakfast of cereals and juice. The local health station has sent across my meal plan for the entire month. Afternoon lunch would be prepared by the kitchen appliances based on the order placed by Jasper. He has been with us since last five years and never has he let me down. He arrived in a box from Japan through online shopping. Though he isn’t a humanoid he can understand my talks and instructions.            I walk past my son’s room to find him having his business meetings with colleagues from across the world. I leave him for my day’s work. I had stopped travelling to work a decade back considering the concept had been phased out. We do not have company offices any more.  I work on my virtual desk punching keys as I gaze into the wide virtual screen across the wall. On a second screen I switch on the live streaming of the tennis match.

Photo by sellingpix

I remember I had to buy some business suits for my meetings. The sensors read and display the choices of clothes on the virtual screen. As I wave my hand and select the color and design the virtual trial room has already scanned, checked my vital statistics and found the suits of my size. I place the order using the virtual money.  Many a times I do not purchase goods that can be created using the 3d printer.  Food supplies are currently being managed by the local superstore which is connected to the home network. They get a regular feed of the supplies available at home and refill it whenever required. The fridge is enabled with the bar code system and a transformer delivers the supplies home.

I decide to test drive the newly launched BMW. I get into the augmented reality mode and whroom through the streets of Rome. If I like it I would want to be the owner of one. Though I hardly step out of home, once a month I drive down to meet my real friends.  I am sure these trial details would have been collected by the merchants, considering consumer data is used to tailor buying habits. Based on the massive data source retailers design the advertisements and products. Guided selling and personalized marketing is the norm of the day. Sensors and processors read data continuously. Neuro-marketing is the new field of science used for promotions.                I have my lunch on the dining table when the suits arrive. Intelligent warehousing machines have reduced the delivery timelines. I have been training for football since last couple of months. These sessions are being conducted by virtual sports academies and I had purchased membership of the same online. These academies aim at transforming individuals to world class players. I had never ever dreamt of playing football in my lifetime as a professional. Today age, time and distance barriers have dissolved. Virtual classrooms hone skills and interests of people and help them realize, fulfill their dreams.

I play a match of football and head back to buy me my share of virtual sleep. Today there are add- ons and freebies like virtual pleasures available. As I head for my slumber I sense myself being shaken and hear my son’s yells. I am brought out of my dream, it is time for me to wake up and get the kids ready. I stare into the mirror and find a younger me. I have to head to the office by beating the traffic blues. Back to the daily hum drum and cacophony of long queues. Welcome to the real world where you belong to.
Reality Bites J

 This post is part of the Future of Shopping contest held by Indiblogger and eBay (bit.ly/eBayCheck_Extention)