Writing Prompt: Write a Pessimistic Account of What You Think the World Could Look Like in 2099

I got this prompt from Writers Write, and so I decided to actually write for an exercise prompt.

In 2099, the world will be a desert.  All of those resources, such as oil, will be used up due to our greediness of not wanting to take the leap to cleaner energy.  Our oceans will smell, as we have kept polluting our waters over the years.  Overfishing has killed off the species, such as whales and sharks that helped maintain the ocean.  There isn’t really any clean water.  Mostly what falls is acid rain.  Since resources are scarce, many nations have enacted an approval plan.  In order for a couple to have a child, they must get approval from the government as the government will ration the supplies, such as food and other resources.  If you don’t have permission to have a child and do, they have the right to take that child from you.  In order to enter the outside world, most people wear an air filter mask, as the smog just sits.  Most of the trees are gone, so the air doesn’t filter, and so nothing much gets blown away.  Food is grown in bubbles to protect it from the harsh conditions.  Medicine is almost non-existent as the environment is destroyed, and the Earth no longer has the capabilities to produce the materials for medicines.  Survival is every man for himself.  Crime is everywhere.  People are constantly trying to steal other people’s rations.  Most of the world is off limits due to years of nuclear wars between countries.  Everyone lives on one continent as the rest are so far gone, life is almost unlivable.  The average life expectancy is only 55 years, as if you get a disease, the government gets to decide how and if they want to spend the resources to treat you. This goes for children as well. Streets and living quarters are crowded.  Money is no longer an issue.  Rations are the new currency and there isn’t regulation on how much labor constitutes how much rationing.  Though the government does give you a certain amount, companies can pay you with the resources they can produce.  Everyone wears the same clothes to save on resources.  Leisure activities no longer exist due to everyone fearing their things being taken.  All art has been destroyed as well as all major structures in the world.  There isn’t a Statue of Liberty.  There isn’t a pyramid left standing.  Those major sites in the world were destroyed in the war or stripped for resources.  Reading is a luxury for many, as too many are focused on just trying to survive.  The world as legend has it, where there were luscious green lawns and blue skies are merely that, legends that are spread around in the evenings if people are not too exhausted to speak by then.  Religion is not allowed.  It gives people hope, and the government can’t have that, as they have no hope for the future.  Religious texts are burned if they are ever found.  People can be executed for practicing their beliefs.  Religion, since so many types of people are so close together, the removal of it is to prevent conflict.  The only thing to focus on is survival, and trying to make what is left as physically livable as possible.  It’s a very bleak and cruel world. 

Reviews

[Craig2591]

Not a pretty picture! I am surprised that religion is not allowed. I would've thought that the government would use religion to control the people. You know - a state sponsored religion.

I would like to see a story based on this world. You paint a very detailed picture of a bleak future.

[Annie Ale]

Well, after some other people reached out on another site about wanting this to become a story, I decided that I would use this as a basis for my alter ego, The Story Mechanist. Her story is that she came out of a really horrible story and now lives in the real world. It's dark enough that it could work. Stay tuned...

[Craig2591]

Interesting idea. Looking forward to it.