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[Music] [Music] Now [Music] [Music] Oh, hi! I'm so glad you're on time. I'm V. I'm looking forward to showing you around Plannedopolis today. My husband works from home; he's a virtual engineer working on one of the city's desalination plants. He controls the robots who do all the important maintenance. I think he basically plays computer games for a living.
Are you ready to go? Have you got your calorie card open on your smartphone? I registered your visit with Slick Travel Corp the other day, so they've allotted you a journey time to match mine. It makes so much sense, doesn't it? Switch off brain and go to work with this many people around. I'm glad there's a mega computer in charge. We're so lucky. Our kids were allocated to school quite near my practice, so I can drop them off on the way. It saves on our calorie ration. Well, it won't be long until the little darlings get their career announcements. They've been working so hard, so I'm sure they'll get something good. Not that there's anything wrong with fixing carbon scrubbers for a living, or anything.
Are you hungry? Let's pop to the market as we're passing. Right, what's on the menu this month? No, not neat; it's not your birthday. The Global Food Council are doing a really good job of keeping food production going. I mean, you don't get the choice you used to, but we're better off, I think. It's probably easiest to walk from here. You barely see a car in the city centre nowadays unless you're rich. Well, the state knows they just aren't practical anymore. We're all trying to meet our global carbon deal. Electric bikes are so much better for getting around our neighborhood. And why waste valuable space on car parks when you can use them to grow food?
I don't care what you say, Alex; they don't deserve to live in that ghetto. They are completely disconnected; no high-speed transport system, no new internet. They miss out on jobs and many essential services, too. Oh, hi again! What a day! I had to make an emergency visit to the Cry Freedom Getters. I mean, I miss my sister like mad, but I'm glad they went when they moved to New Amsterdam. They're safe from climate change on the floating city. That must be her now. It's much easier to meet up with friends virtually now. So many cities have banned cars in central areas. Oh, looks like she's got some juicy gossip. [Music] [Music] Now [Music] [Music] Oh, is it that time already? Oh, it's date night. Typical, today of all days. Oh hello, I forgot you were coming today, too. Uh, well, um, there's got to be a quick tour. Welcome to Communist City. This is, uh, the city where I live. Well, I say city; in fact, it's really a jumble of neighborhoods. Everyone lives in their own little part of town; each one's different from the next with its own little character. I love it. Oh Lord, I said I'd drop the kids to school. Can we chat more on the road? Oh yeah, the design they did for me at the showroom; me and my friends all got asses done at the same time. I know it's really silly, but I couldn't resist. I love zipping through all the different pods and scooters, and it's nice not to have to worry about crashing or being late. Public transport—that is so old-fashioned. Well, hardly anyone uses that anymore. We haven't put money into trains or buses for years. It saved loads of public money; we put that into local community centres, schools, or helping start-up businesses instead. Well, still, you do see people in bio-buses; you know, they're the little mini-buses powered by biofuel. Great if you're not so well off, I suppose. Looks like I'm running a bit low on juice. It only happens when you're already late, doesn't it? My friend keeps nagging me to grow my own biofuel at home and get a scooter, but this thing's electric. Well, this should be fun. We're about to ask the community about expanding the practice. Everyone has a say over what happens locally. There's a plan to build a new road connecting us with Neighborhood A, a community of migrant workers a couple of kilometers away. It makes economic sense to establish links with other communities in the city who we really fit with, but this is different. It could mean more patience, but it would be good to get the cheap labor coming in. Hiya! How was the rest of your morning? I'm starving. I'll have to eat; cheap food is so expensive. Despite the vertical farming, growing food for everyone is still a real challenge for many communities; land is so hard to come by. I'll have to eat on the run; house calls this afternoon. My sister is so lucky; she works from home, doesn't have to travel at all. So many people do that these days. Now that is the life. It's date time; let's get moving. Oh God, sorry! I… Are you all right? No, no, I can't stop; I'm really sorry. Oh, I forgot some people still ride a bike. Funny how many people still don't have at least a little electric mini-scooter. Well, I'll say goodbye now. I want to touch up my lippy before meeting Mr. Right. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] This wasn't what I wanted either, but what choice do we have? Look, I… I know you don't agree, but I've got to do something. Oh, hi! Come on in. Uh… uh… yeah, I'm… uh… nearly ready. I'm V, by the way. Right, well, I'm off then. I hate seeing him on that thing; the streets are a death trap on a bike. But the only job he could get is halfway across the city at a big coal liquefaction plant. Well, there's no way we could afford to move to that neighborhood. He's applying like mad for a virtual job, but so is everyone else, I guess. I never thought I'd get one of these. I used to be a doctor, you see, but the state closed most of the public hospitals, and the entrepreneurs have taken over the economy. They give their jobs to their mates, and I didn't stand a chance. I'm basically agreeing to be a nomad by taking this job. The traffic is so bad; I'll be away from home for days at a time, but what could I do? Take a look at this; it's a mess, isn't it? I live here—well, not a bad part of town, at least. I'm fairly connected, unlike the folk that live in the failed developments. Oh God, look at this! Look, it's disgusting, isn't it? They're just trophies, you know; they buy them, but you never see them driving them. What's the point? The politicians are always making a big deal of building more roads to connect the city together, but not everyone gets much benefit except for the billionaires; or they're always above it all, aren't they? I guess we should pick up some provisions. I know just the place, but don't tell the boss, will you? There's no way I can make this job pay if I buy the official fuel; not the back market. Much better prices have soared since the rumors of the Chinese recession. Perhaps I should grow my own biofuel. There's been a lot of tension recently; people just feel powerless. It's kind of scary the way we're seeing such a rise in religious and ethnic tensions, but the food and other provisions are just so much more affordable than in corporate-owned supermarkets. Let's pick up some grub. Oh, them. Oh yeah, well, it's… uh… natural after last year's food riots, isn't it? I guess they had to do something. Oh, pea and potato on special again. We haven't had much wheat since Russia cut their supplies. I wish I could have got a virtual teaching job or something. Oh yeah, the kids are all learning online now; it's all part of the big public sector cuts. At least I'm selling something useful; we'll all need water-saving solutions in the future. And I don't care how much they rash in water; I still want to have good-looking air. I'll be home soon, and we'll make enough money from this to fund our own little business; we're thinking of it. It's the best way to make a living nowadays. Hello, sir, how are you this morning? [Music] [Music] Wow! [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hmm, that was gorgeous. It was such a good idea of yours to come here; it's really taken my mind off things. We should do more often. Well, I suppose I should get back to work. I'll see you later, darling. Right, where was I? Oh, hi there! I'm V. You've come for a look around, haven't you? Well, I've got a bit more work to do here, but I can show you the sights when it's time to pick up the kids if you like. It won't take me long to see the patients; we do it all virtually now, you see. I can quickly show you the garden as you're here. We share this with our neighbors; it's great, isn't it? We use the household waste from the block to create gas and fertilizer, and it's dead simple. And it means that we exchange any surplus power for food and vouchers and subsidies. It comes in really useful with our micro-generation targets, too. I work here on Thursdays; most of us have scaled back our work hours now, and it makes sense; there's less money to go around, but more time for family and all this kind of stuff. Here we go. Welcome to Renewab. It's nice, isn't it? Really clean and safe, and thank goodness we've kissed goodbye to the traffic jams. All the vehicles are controlled by computers now. You see, this is the Golden Star Service. They're not as fast as the Red Express, but the coffee's better. It's a short hop to the school. Look, I brought this for you. We live just near the growth boundary, and the school is in the next urban village, but the high-speed rail makes it really manageable. In fact, the journey time is really valuable; I get the shopping done, chat to friends, I can even see some patients. I'm really lucky that my job is still valuable; it's a service, you see. People are so bored with useless products. It can be a bit scary traveling through the non-transition zone, though; they were really left behind by not converting to a low-carbon way of life. There's a lot more resentment there. I'm here already. Hello there! How was school? Wow! How cool is that? The new hydro-pods imported from Morocco! It puts your dad's electropod to shame, doesn't it? So dinky! Aren't they amazing? You can go for a whole week without having to recharge. Come on then, home for dinner. We're seeing your grandparents in Shanghai tonight for a virtual dinner. [Music] You.