The year was 5050. The descendents of the Tan Family had survived the many disasters and catastrophes that Earth had gone through, and lived to bear the name of Tan proudly into the 51st century.
And so, one gloriously sunny day in 5050, the Tan Family woke up to the jolly chirping of the birds. Mrs Tan was down first. She was the fastest to get dressed ever since her husband had got her her wardrobe assistant for Christmas. This was a smart little gadget that would randomly piece together the clothes in her cupboard to create a smart, tasteful outfit. All Mrs Tan had to do was to press a button, and follow the advice of the wardrobe assistant. She no longer had to sit on her bed and stare at her cupboard for hours, trying to decide what to wear.
Once downstairs, she clapped her hands in a special sequence. The tea-maker came on and started to make tea. She then put some special dough mixture into the super-speed-bread-maker. In 10 minutes time, she was in the rooftop garden putting out hot chamomile tea and fresh hot rolls on the breakfast table. Ah Boy and Ah Girl were already there, looking to see which fresh fruit they could pluck from the many kinds of fruit trees they grew there. Mr Tan came last, yawning as he walked towards the table. He sat in his chair and turned on the hologram screen where he read the latest news.
It was a public holiday so Mr Tan did not have to go to work that day, and the children didn't have to go to school. While Mr Tan sat calmly, sipping his morning tea and reading the news, Ah Boy and Ah Girl finished their breakfast in a jiffy and ran downstairs to "do homework". They did take out their featherlight laptops that they brought to school. However, homework was the last thing on their agenda as they started playing computer games.
When breakfast was over, Mrs Tan collected the plates to put them in the dishwasher, and set the table to 'autoclean'. Then she ran to watch her online soap opera, answer emails and tend her virtual farm.
Around lunchtime, the Tans piled into Mr Tan's solar-powered car and went out for lunch and grocery shopping. But before that, they had to go to the optician's. In this day and age, opticians could be found on every corner, because, with the advancement in computers and technology, nearly everyone fell victim to short-sightedness and had to wear glasses.
Some things hadn't changed in more than 3000 years - the kids still hankered for McDonalds. And so McDonalds it was for lunch. Ah Boy was at the display case looking at the Happy Meal toys when a little boy rudely pushed his way in front of him. Ah Boy was furious, but nobody was looking except the boy’s mother who stared vacantly in his direction. Just then, she turned away. Ah Boy swiftly tripped the boy up, and then with unprecedented concern, helped him up again, smacking the boy as hard as he could, under the pretence of patting down his clothes. It was well-executed and Ah Boy came off as the hero of the day.
Ah Girl wasn't so lucky. They had gone straight to the supermarket after lunch, and she was trying to get a packet of crisps that was right at the back of the shelf. It was an accident waiting to happen. With a crash, all the crisps fell down. Quick as lightning, Ah Girl snatched the crisps she was looking for and scuttled away like a frightened rabbit. Ah Boy was standing some way away, but instead of helping to put the crisps back, he just stood there and guffawed, until Ah Girl sneaked up from behind and gave him a kick.
Finally, The Tans had bought everything they needed, and much more that they didn't need. They piled it all into their environmentally-friendly foldable trolley and headed back to the car, stopping for ice-cream on the way. Mrs Tan loved ice-cream. She lagged behind, eating hers slowly. And then, tragedy struck. Somebody rushing past knocked her elbow violently. Her ice-cream cone fell out of her hand and landed with a splat on the floor. Mrs Tan stared in disbelief at the mess on the floor that had been her highlight of the day... and then quickly ran away because she didn't want to clean up or let anybody know that it was her ice-cream they were stepping on.
And so, another day passed for the Tan Family. That night, just before they went to bed, Mrs Tan threw out the rubbish. As it was particularly foul-smelling domestic waste, she threw it into the neighbour's dustbin, then washed her hands with peach-scented handwash and went to bed.
It was a new generation, but the same old Tans.
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