top of page

Beneath the Glass Skies

Anonymous

March 19, 2025

Beneath the Glass Skies

This image was generated with Dream Studio AI.

By 2040, Earth was unrecognizable. The scars of climate change had etched themselves across every continent. Rising seas had swallowed parts of coastal cities, while droughts and wildfires claimed once fertile lands. The Earth, though still beautiful, now bore an eerie, fractured majesty—an intricate mix of human resilience and nature's unrelenting wrath.

In New London, a sprawling megacity built atop the ruins of old London, a young woman named Lena tightened her augmented reality glasses and stepped outside. Above her, glass domes shimmered, shielding the city from the temperamental weather outside—acid rain, superstorms, and the occasional suffocating heatwave. These domes, known as Climate Bubbles, had become humanity's final defense against an environment it could no longer control.

Lena paused at the edge of the dome’s district barrier, watching workers in exoskeleton suits reinforce its joints. Beyond the translucent wall lay the Blightlands, a wasteland of dead soil, skeletal trees, and the ruins of smaller towns long abandoned. The land was barren, save for the scavenger drones zipping around to recover rare metals from old tech and the occasional crew of climate engineers planting carbon-absorbing bio-machines disguised as moss.

Life inside the domes was far from perfect. The air was clean, water was drinkable, and food was plentiful, though most of it came from vertical farms that spiraled skyward in shades of green and silver. But the economy was tightly controlled, dominated by mega-corporations that had stepped in to do what governments couldn't during the late 2020s. The tech giant Solaris ran everything from energy grids to public AI, its CEO seen as a messiah to some and a tyrant to others.

related stories

hallo
Aucun
Au réveil, les machines préparent le petit déjeuner que j'ai l'habitude de prendre (café, pain grillé et un fruit). Mes vêtements sont prêts et se mettent automatiquement sur moi. Je prends des transports en commun qui vont vite, vole et permettent d'arriver rapidement sur son lieu de travail. Ce n'est pas très durable mais c'est pratique. Le vélo est devenu une activité en perte de vitesse car c'est moins rapide. La société va toujours plus vite. Tout est informatisé et ne permet pas d'avoir trop d'interaction sociale et c'est un bat qui blesse. Pour la vie de famille, cela reste tous ensemble dans la même maison mais cela ne permet pas vraiment de se croire en famille car chacun est plus isolé devant un appareil électrique qui occupe son temps libre
hallo
Unsere Hoffnung
There is no more war in Europe. The states have agreed well and respect each other and the borders. All European countries are in the European Union and manage it jointly and consensually. There are no political or economic dependencies on other states. This is where agreements come in. Poverty and homelessness are exceptional. Anyone can call for help. Migration is not a negative issue because people and their workforce are welcome. However, people who have become criminals are expelled and must return to their home country. Climate change continues to be a big issue, but work is underway around the world to make a difference. Resources are protected and protected. Recycling is normal.
hallo
Enfin libre
It is 7:30 a.m. the awakening of the AI comes to give me the weather, and also the state of traffic in the aerobuses. I will prepare and reach the station where I will find the regulars who live in the same community island. This weekend if the weather permits, I will be able to spend two days away from the city in the protected nature.I am an average manager in a company specializing in agronomy, we manage breeders and growers who work in very well equipped farms. The world lives in peace and personal spirituality has replaced false religions. Politics too is curtailed and everything is run by assemblies of sages aided by AI. There is no longer a dictatorial Europe and everything is decided at the local level by the sages who change every three years. All the lies of the old elites were exposed and the protagonists were heavily punished. The drug has been almost completely eradicated and specialized recreation centers offer even stronger but safe and addiction-free sensations. The education of children is the subject of great attention and many harmful subjects are no longer taught. The death penalty has been reinstated for serious crimes, many judgments are rendered by AI and confirmed by sages.
hallo
Einigkeit macht stark
Ukraine's war and Trump's government have awakened the Europeans. Ukraine was forced to make peace, NATO was prevented by the US, and it was admitted to the EC. The EC has set up a joint army, some of which is based in Ukraine. The bureaucracy has been radically simplified, applications must be completed after 6 months at the latest. Britain is back in the EC. Council of Europe decisions need 60 percent approval. The blockade of individual states no longer exists.
Join #OurFutures now!

The future is shaped by our ideas and our actions today. Tell us about your visions of the future and help us create a futures narrative aimed at inspiring citizens, policy-makers and foresight experts alike!

OURfutures.png

The European Commission support does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained.

ERA_logo.jpg

We support the European Research Area aimed at creating a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology in the EU.

©OurFutures 2025, All rights reserved.

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
bottom of page