Aan woke up in the morning to the ringing of a bell that sounded right into his brain. The neuroimplant adjusted her sleep to exactly eight hours to ensure maximum productivity. A quick glimpse of the hologram screen in the corner of the room confirmed that the first task of the day was a virtual meeting on the Mars colony construction project. Although he held the title of responsible technologist, he had never physically gone to Mars – everything was done remotely.

Instead of coffee, he grabbed a morning smoothie that had been mixed by a 3D printer, according to his body monitoring data. The nanoparticles added to the drink carried the necessary nutrients directly into the bloodstream. At the same time, he loaded his daily work files into an artificial reality system connected to his glasses.

In the afternoon, Jaan promised himself a walk. The self-sufficient community outside the city still had green trees and natural rivers. The whole world was full of technology, but Jaan often felt that people had lost touch with nature. He turned off the neuroimplant for a moment to listen to the real bird song, not the soundscape created by the algorithm.

In the evening, when self-lighting artificial trees lit up in the city and drones were circling in the background, Jaan was thinking. Everything was designed to make life more comfortable, efficient and economical. But sometimes he felt something was missing – something human. Perhaps it was a dream for people to find a balance between technology and the natural beauty of life.

Far away on Mars, work went on, but Jaan still dreamed of a world where technology does not replace dreams, but gives them wings.