Saturday, July 10, 2010

Imagine that we lived in a world where costs are measured by the total impact of our actions and consumptions on the sustainability of the planet, and the perceived environmental costs of transportation become so expensive that almost everything is produced and consumed in the same region. The only thing that really crosses state and country borders are electronic money and information. MNCs and Franchises exists but only in payments and in contracts - knowledge and technologies, expressed as specifications and manufacturing data are provided, no goods are actually moved.

The most accessible transports are the bus and the train, and buses are run by a highly optimized scheduler that allows them to come to your doorstep within 10 minutes of booking. High speed transport is provided by trains. Air and space travel are available, but prohibitively expensive, not just in terms of money costing, but in terms of environmental costs.

And in this world, every human being is entitled to two trips by air, to anywhere you want to go on the planet - either that, or one single trip on a rocket to another planet human beings are living on - without a return trip.

You could take the trip to leave the society on the planet.

You could use it as one single holiday of your life.

Two people could save their trips for their honeymoon.

You could experience live abroad and return to your country and make use of your experience abroad.

You could take the flight to another country, and try to live there and have the second ticket as a back-up plan, in case you want to return.

You could take the flight to another country and live there, and then take the other flight to yet another country, settling down wherever you go.

Or you could just be where you are, and offer your tickets to another person who would want to use it.

Or you could be collecting tickets from people who do not want to travel in their lives, and use them to fuel holidays.

Or you could live a migrant life, moving from city to city with tickets that people around you bestow on you.

Where would you go?

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