The date is January 1st, 4000, and the planet is called Earth. There are no hangovers on this particular New Years Day, as alcohol was rendered obsolete way back in 2966. There is however a collective sense of relief because the doom-sayers at Reuters erroneously reported that the Y4K bug could potentially knock out communications with all family-members living off-world, limit interstellar travel, and wreak havoc with at-home food processors. They were wrong.

A concert featuring ancient music was the highlight of New Years Rockin’ Eve on ABC, yes they’re still around, and captivated music lovers from Earth all the way to the colony at Zeta Tauri. Ryan Seacrest LXXXII and Dick Clark CLVI, the latter being the more popular of the clones, reveal unsurprisingly, that the number one song of 3999 is Beat It by Michael Jackson, performed in front of cheering crowds by Michael Jackson MDLV, his most celebrated clone.

Earth 4000, the lack of alcohol aside, is a paradise and the people living there, both human and alien, know how to have a good time. Overpopulation is a distant memory and food is abundant for everyone since people began to relocate off world. The galaxy has become a small place, and the next major step for science to conquer will be travel to our galactic neighbor, Andromeda.

The people who chose to keep their roots on Earth, not counting the occasional vacation to Proxima Centauri, are called “Earth Purists” and concentrate on keeping Earth a beautiful and wonderful place. They have grown beyond the need for governing or being governed, and while those living in space are part of one type of adventure, the Earth Purists are part of another, focusing their energy on understanding the true final-frontier, the mind.

The life expectancy of a human of this era is 179 years of age and even the most average person among them uses about 28% of their brain. A teenager in their society views Einstein’s dated theories in much the same way that a teenager in 2009 would view a Commodore Vic-20.

People here do not quite resemble the humans of previous millennia, as they are basically one race with one language, which sounds strangely like Esperanto. There is no thought of national borders, there is no need for money, and the use of flags inspire only feelings of nostalgia and are often used by tour-guides as props to show to tourists from other worlds. Despite the relatively long life-span no-one alive has ever experienced a war, they are unaccustomed to interpersonal conflicts, and they have no need for toilet paper a weekly supplement breaks down food in the system so is it all usable energy.

With the decrease in Earth’s population, animal life is allowed to flourish, and no animal is ever in danger of being hunted. Sea mammals once thought to be near extinction thrive in the oceans, and what were once the world’s most polluted waters are once again blue and beautiful.

Think of yourself living 2000 years ago, would you, could you, have accurately predicted what the world would look like in 2009? Unlikely, but it is possible.

My view of 4000 is based on my belief that the human race will progress, not only technologically but also mentally, and not lose its sense of humor in the process. Anything can happen between now and the year 4000, and maybe what I’ve written here will eventually become true, maybe it will never happen at all, or perhaps the way you are imagining it right now will be the true shape of things to come. One thing is certain, whatever Earth looks like in the year 4000, I like to think that somehow I can be around to see it, perhaps in some future reincarnation.

In the meantime all I can do is hope that in the future, perhaps not so distant as the year 4000, this world will become a better place for all of us. I am also keeping my fingers crossed that Pierre Boulle was dead wrong when he wrote Planet of the Apes!