Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 286
The Incredible Technologies in the Greater Bay Area
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Cheung, Chi Yan - 9
‘Hello guys!’ greeted Professor Nick Zhang, head of planning and engineering at the Greater Bay Area
(GBA). ‘Welcome to our facility. I’ll be taking you on a tour to showcase the advanced technologies of the
Greater Bay Area, which comprises eleven great cities, in the south of China, with our Hong Kong as
Capital City. I have friendly nicknamed the zone 仔仔 which means “son” in Chinese to symbolize that it is
an offspring of the mainland and for its shape like a puppy.’
We entered the gigantic venue with ceilings of a height more than 800 meters and arches, vaults larger than
the one on the Sistine Chapel. We were told to enter a semi-dark room, with a giant model of the GBA
looking fresh out of a science fiction book, laying on a giant podium, in the middle of it. We were smitten
and somehow intimidated by the size and grandness of the skyscrapers, with connecting sky-pods and
elevated highways that brought you from one building to the other. A mega structure called the Hyperloop
was cordoning the whole area, connecting all municipalities. They had even made unique replicas of the
sky-monorail linking all buildings together. Then, the professor began to explain all that we had to know.
‘Our new country within the motherland is a unique zone, regulated by new liberal laws that allow us freeaction
and cooperation. As you must know by now, we do not use currencies. All payments, within the
zone, are fully automated.’ ‘But Prof, how can that be possible?’ Terry inquired, puzzled. ‘Well, the concept
is quite simple. Every person living here wears what we call a ‘credit-sensor’, which is a wristband very
similar to a Fitbit, equipped with a sophisticated microchip, containing all data related to the person,’
continued Prof. Zhang, pointing at the wristband that he was wearing. ‘The microchip can be used for all
operations related to payments, like going to the supermarket to buy groceries, paying your bills, booking
shows online, etc. What you need to do is to simply scan your wristband against one of the station monitors
placed at every corner of the city. Credits are generated by tracking what you do every day. The time you
spend at work, studying, completing tasks, and achieving goals, are continuously recorded inside the
microchip which will send all the info to a mega computer called the SORTER, that will translate your
efforts into credits.’
‘But Prof, what about if you lose it? It must be very dangerous! Anyone picking up your wristband may steal
all your information!’ Jerry exclaimed horrified. ‘Not really,’ Prof. Zhang carried on saying. ‘If anyone
happened to be losing the wristband, the system shuts down automatically.’ ‘Wow, Prof. that is pretty
incredible!!!’ said Terry in complete adulation. ‘I would really love to try one!’ he cried. Prof. Zhang then
gave everyone in the group a temporary one that they could use for the day. ‘It’s amazing! It feels so light!’
Exclaimed Terry after trying it on. ‘Yes, in fact it is! It is designed for complete comfort and practicality,’
replied Prof. Zhang. ‘But guess what guys? I’ve got plenty more to show you, come this way.’
Prof. Zhang led us into another gigantic warehouse, with rows of electronic kiosks lying around the
perimeter of the warehouse. Then he approached one of them, scanned his wristband against the monitor to
activate it, on which a number of selections appeared. He pressed “food” on the panel and a variety of dishes
and categories popped up on the display panel. Then he asked us to choose. ‘Any volunteer?’ Lian was the
first one to jump at the opportunity. ‘Meeeeeee!’ he excitedly exclaimed. He pressed on a dish of spaghetti
and selected a bottle of coke for drink. Next, he confirmed the transaction, by scanning the monitor of the
wristband against the food kiosk display panel. A window appeared that gave the confirmation of the order
and payment. Prof. Zhang explained in a real scenario, the kiosk would be connected to the underground
food court where human staff would have the food ready and deliver it personally to you at your location.
‘Guys, the best part is yet to come. I’m going to take you on a journey on the Hyperloop to one of the most
industrialized cities part of this zone: Shenzhen! Let’s go! We were astonished when we got in the
Hyperloop. Jerry’s mouth dropped wide open: ‘I love all these high-tech stuff, especially the modern look
of the carriages! I also love the neon lights on the floor that change colour according to the environment, it
adds flavour to the carriage! It’s so cool!’ ‘There’s even a small screen placed at each window showing the
current speed of the train, along with a map which shows where you exactly are using global positioning,’
added Prof. Zhang, gesturing to a small rectangle-shaped screen.