Think about this: 2081 is 76 years away. A LOT of changes can happen in 76 years. For instance...

- How has the family, as an institution, changed? Has there been change in the way 'family' is defined?
- What new inventions could have been invented? All-purpose house cleaning robots? Flying cars? How will such inventions affect people?
- What about people's attitude to things like single parenthood or divorce?
- How for has the world become a single global economy? What are the politics of the day like?

Heh just some questions I wondered as I was trying to do up Jaya's app. She's a single mother whose boyfriend suddenly disappeared one day...

As I've said, a lot of this can be left to the imagination of the writer. Basically, most of the advances have occurred in the technological aspect of the world. Morally, humans aren't much better than they are at the moment. They still discriminate, still stereotype, but they also still love, and believe.

-Family: There hasn't been much change in this aspect. The family unit still consists of child, parents, grandparents, and other relatives. However, the trend of having less children is very much visible -- families are also much more isolated than before, due to widespread settlement and migration.

-Inventions: There have been a lot of inventions. Ideas are definitely not limited at all. Cars have started flying, yes, and air space is used much more efficiently. "Normal" cars can still be seen, but most "fly", or rather, travel parallel to the huge magnetic strip on the roads. Photos have also become obsolete, with great advancements in refining hologram images. These are just a few possible ideas.

People will, naturally, just feel that it's normal for them to have the technology. Life on Earth revolves around technology, all the more after different Offworlders have brought new technology to trade. Everyone is aware of this, but since they're living it, they don't think much of it. Some have qualms about whether so much technology will, one day, overrun Earth, but more often than they can't completely stay away from technology.

-Single parenthood/divorce: This has become an idea that is accepted more and more in society. (Less taboo) People generally marry at least twice in their lifetimes, partly because less have children (nothing to "anchor" them down), and partly because people are more practical about realising they are unhappy with their life and more likely to make the sensible decision to divorce or separate.

-Single global economy?! Oh dear, I hate politics. Ahem. Well. Let's talk about single global economy first. The world's economy continues to revolve around the same few players, though there have been some notable rise and falls. There is not really a single global economy, though some might (as always) say otherwise.

In terms of politics, perhaps it should be known that Switzerland is pretty much disliked by other countries, especially more powerful ones. Their welcome to offworlders has enlivened an economy that was starting to stagnate, and the others feel threatened.

Baseline is, play around with ideas. I don't mind if you come up with a world that's basically no different from our current one, since that's possible in some places. Lausanne, though, is pretty much technologically advanced, coexisting with a heart of culture.

Gosh I can't believe I forgot to log in again. Heh! Yeah, that was me.