Future Tech of Worlds Apart
Canvas
In Worlds Apart, people carry a Canvas. It's a mobile device, like today's iPhones, except it is not one device among many. It is one's sole personal computer. Gone are laptops, desktops, tablets, dedicated gaming systems and smartTVs, because all you need is Canvas.
A day in the life of Canvas looks like this. Tess wants to check her personal finances before work so she sets her Canvas on her home desk. The inductive surface begins to charge her Canvas and the 30 inch display glows to life. She uses a combination of voice, keyboard, gestures and air taps (who likes fingerprints all over their display?) and plans a monthly budget.
On the Auto ride to work, she gets a vidCall from her boss that her Canvas plays on the Auto's windshield and uses the Auto's mics and speakers. He tells her she had the best sales record last month and earned a week in the corner suite.
Tess arrives in the lux corner suite and checks out the stunning view, stocked personal fridge and private restroom before setting her Canvas on the office desk. The display activates and shows her work exactly where she left off on Friday.
Back at home she considers watching a movie on her AVR glasses, but decides to grab a game controller and play a shooter on a wall display. Either way, it's all powered by Canvas.
Personal AI
Siri, Alexa and the others were forerunners to Personal AI like how 8-track tapes were the forerunners to digital music. In 2063, your Canvas is loaded with a Personal AI, it has a name, a unique voice and personality. Do you like an AI that makes you laugh? Or perhaps an upbeat, motivating AI that encourages you to be your best? Maybe a warm mom-like personality is more your style. Or perhaps a snarky, sharp tongued AI that keeps you on your toes. No matter what you choose, Personal AIs get to know you. What you like, what you don't like. They can suggest a movie you'll enjoy or order you a drone delivery meal that you'll find delicious.
But they go farther than mere preferences, Personal AI, cares about you. It wants you to succeed, to reach your goals. It's a friend when you need to talk. It can tell if you've been working too hard or not hard enough. If you haven't gone to the gym recently, it might coordinate with one of your friends's AI to see if you both might hit the gym together. An assistant, best friend, life coach, mom and therapist all rolled into one.
Smart Wheelchair
James's smart wheelchair has a built-in AI, named Rosie. Like Personal AI, Rosie's main interface is voice. James can say, "Take me to the kitchen," and Rosie will drive him there from anywhere in the house, even up or down stairs. Each of Rosie's six wheels are independently powered and can raise or lower relative to the rest of the wheelchair. When James approaches stairs, the front two wheels raise and James's weight is balanced on the middle and rear wheels. The front wheels go onto the top of the first step and the middle wheels raise. Four wheels are always in contact with the surface and even though James can't walk, with Rosie, he can climb stairs.
Autos (self driving vehicles)
Just how music in 2010-2020 went from something people owned (CDs) to a service (streaming music) vehicles made the same transition in 2045-2055. No one wanted the hassle of charging and vehicle maintenance, they simply wanted to get easily from one place to another safely and quickly. And since your personal AI already knows your work schedule, it will have an Auto waiting to drive you to work. Parked vehicles disappeared from the sides of streets, driveways and garages.
Iconic Settings
Spacestation Horizon
The ad read, "Your next adventure is on the Horizon" and showed jaw-dropping views of the Horizon Spacestation in Earth orbit. It's the ultimate vacation destination. 30 decks offering shopping, gambling and experiences all in the magic of microgravity. Visit the ISS museum, go on a space walk and see a show unlike any on Earth in the microgravity theater. Sleep in your capsule hotel room and consider extending your holiday with an optional lunar base tour. Moon dune buggy rentals are rated 4.9 stars out of 5.
Welcome Aboard the Orion
Commercial service to Mars is provided by MarsX on one of their magplas-powered spaceships. The magplas booster was pivotal in colonizing the moon, shortening the journey from 6 months to 45 days. The Orion is one of six MarsX spaceships. On board are small, but luxurious personal cabins, smartglass enclosed dining rooms and an observation deck. The headline amenity is the Gravity Lounge featuring smartglass immersive viewing, a well-stocked auto-bar, comfy seating and most importantly after a few weeks in space, the gravity shower.
Solsi: Mars's first and so far, only, colony
Solsi's come a long way from its modest beginnings inside the shelter of long dormant lava tube. The invention of mag-defense tech allowed the colony to move to the surface where its iconic curved-wall hallways connect more than a hundred separate buildings. Ride an autowheel to Roxx and order a martian-brewed Red Roxx Ale. Or visit Mad Mike's for a surface excursion. Or take the elevator to the top of the Solsi Tree. On a clear day you can see all the way to Olympus Mons!