It was a usual sunny day with a light breeze blowing in the early morning and me heading off for school with a glum face, as I usually did every Tuesday morning.

You see every Tuesday, we had this environmental studies class, which I never looked forward to. We always discussed ways to fight global warming, conserve the environment and address climate change. I always wondered if it would really be so bad if our world was affected by these problems. I mean, we are already living in a world full of problems, what difference would few other problems make?

The class began and it was as boring as usual. The teacher discussed small things that we could do to help protect earth, like using reusable bags, containers and water bottles, turning off lights, electronics and taps when not in use and many other things, but you get the idea. After what seemed like forever, school ended and I headed home.

At home, as usual, my mother had lunch ready and my grandfather, who was a very famous inventor, was, as usual, nowhere to be seen, probably in his laboratory working on this machine he had been working on for months, which I knew nothing about. I ate lunch and wished for something exciting to happen in my boring life.

After lunch, I headed towards my grandfather’s lab, but upon reaching there, I was surprised to see that not only the door was opened, but there also stood my grandpa beaming at me, which was highly unusual. He looked quite excited and signalled me to come in and I happily obliged.

He showed me his latest invention, which stood in the middle of the room. It looked like a computer with a large screen and a keyboard, but atop the keyboard rested a VR headset which seemed to also be connected to this strange device.

I looked at my grandfather in confusion and asked, “What is this?”

“You know how humans always have questions about what if this happened and what if that happened? Well, I used human curiosity as my base and came up with the idea of the “What If Machine.” Using the latest AI models and VR technology, this machine holds the power to not only answer your questions, but also create a scenario to answer your questions more practically. Those scenes are so realistic that not only do you see yourself there but also feel it. I have run multiple tests and it’s in perfect working condition,” he explained. He then asked me, “Do you want to have a go?”

I did want to have a go as the machine sounded exciting. I wondered what I would ask the machine, then told my grandpa, “I want to know what would happen if the world was affected by global warming?”

My grandpa seemed a little nervous and asked, “Are you sure kiddo? It’s kind of a complex topic.” I nodded in the affirmative. So my grandfather shrugged and asked me to sit down and put on the VR headset, and I did so. He then typed in the question and it appeared on the screen.

My view changed and the next thing I saw was a barren landscape. Words appeared on my vision, which explained that it was the year 2050 and that the temperature was 50°C, which was a normal average temperature for that year. The scene in front of me was quite horrid. The earth was cracked, dry and dusty, with little to no vegetation and remnants of what used to be fertile soil, now eroded. There were no trees, and if there was anything, was the remnant of trees. The sun was blazing hot and the sky was a dull, faded colour due to the toxic air and dust particles. I was just processing all this when my view shifted again.

Now, I could see a beach and the temperature there was also really high. The ocean stretched before me, but it wasn’t how it usually looked. Instead, it was dirty and with trash floating on the surface. Waves crashed along the shore, warmer than they should have been. The air felt stale, a reminder of the rotting plants and trash gathered along the shore.

My view changed yet again, and this time I could see icebergs, a fraction of the size they usually are. The ice, which should have gleamed pure white under the sun, looked slushy and thin, its edges melting into the dark, cold water. Chunks of ice broke off every few minutes, splashing into the ocean, leaving the iceberg smaller with each fall. I had read about icebergs melting, but actually seeing this was quite horrible.

My view shifted once more, this time I could see a city in truly bad condition. The streets were altered almost beyond recognition. Buildings near the water’s edge were either abandoned or had their lower floors swallowed by rising tides. Sandbags lined the streets, a desperate attempt to keep the sea at bay. The grass was dry. The city’s roofs gleamed with solar panels, clinging to capture whatever energy they could capture to survive the heat.

My view changed yet again, this time I was seeing a bustling street. The sun was blazing overhead, casting an intense, almost blinding light. People moved along the street, their faces hidden behind some new kind of masks. I was told that in this era, masks were used for protection against smog and pollution in the air. Cooling stations were installed in many places, that released a gentle mist and people lined up in front of them. I was explained that these were essential with temperatures often too high to bear the heat without a break. People wore lightweight fabrics that reflected the blazing sunlight instead of absorbing it. Everyone rode in electric vehicles because it was necessary cut down on fossil fuel emission to help improve the bad air conditions.

My view then shifted again, this time revealing a forest — a brown, desolate forest — that signified life had ended there. There was no greenery, only the burned and lifeless remains of brittle branches and dead leaves scattered across the forest floor. The trees stood like hollow shells, stripped of vitality, as though time had drained away their spirit, leaving nothing but a haunting silence in its wake.

My view again changed and I could see a world with increased droughts and water scarcity. Communities were fighting each other for water and food. The prices for everything were extremely high. It was like looking at a world where there was only survival of the fittest.

Seeing all that chaos, havoc and deteriorated condition of the world, I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled the VR headset off.

My grandfather looked at me with concern for I was panting and my face had lost all colour. He hurriedly handed me a glass of water.

“You okay, kiddo?” he asked and I assured him that I was fine. Then he asked me if I had gotten the answer to my question.

“Yes grandpa, I got my answer. I saw the terrible future we are headed towards and I will do everything in my power to prevent it from happening. I will also spread the word to other people,” I replied.

I pledged, and oh, and I no longer hated Tuesday’s environmental class because it was actually the time I was learning ways to combat the causes making our world go dark. Each lesson opened my eyes to the impacts of pollution, deforestation and climate change and I felt a growing responsibility to make a difference.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 2nd, 2024