Will Stella Make it Back?
Will Stella Make it Back?
The year is 2060. The world of the internet has changed immensely since the creation of the internet and the world wide web back in the "olden days." However, as years have passed the internet has started to be exhausted and only small quantities of the internet are left to be used. Not too long ago, the government set a time restriction on internet usage called "Internet Savings Time." This has helped with the conversation of the internet but many Americans were not abiding by the 8 am-5 pm time frame. A breaking news story ran across all television screens stating there will be a newer "Internet Savings Time" time restriction placed on all American citizens for devices that use the internet. How will this affect business owners, parents, technologists, or even grad student Stella, who is finishing her last year of grad school?
The day started normal for Stella. Her Siriana woke her up at 8 am by stating "Let's get the day started" repeatedly until Stella announced her password for Siriana to stop. Sirana, her robot personal assistant, then proceeded to set a timer on how long Stella had until she needed to leave. Siriana stood about 3 feet tall and weighed less than 20 pounds. Siriana was the perfect personal robot assistant to Stella and she helped her stay on top of due dates, timing, and daily life errands. Siriana did not operate on an internet connection therefore having Siriana did not interfere with the amount of internet being used in the world. Having Siriana as a personal alarm clock was Stella's motivation to always get out of bed and prepare herself for the day ahead rapidly. Stella first went downstairs to see what her father had decided to make for breakfast. When Stella walked downstairs, she did not smell any prepared food. She turned the corner to see her dad's eyes glued to the TV screen. She then said, "what's going on dad?" Her dad did not answer. Stella proceeds to make her way to the living room to see what the TV screen is portraying."Breaking News; the Internet Savings Time as you know it has changed." "President Baldwin has announced that all citizens must only connect one device to the internet at a time and time restrictions on when the internet can be used will be restricted according to state;look on the screen below to see your state-designated time to use the internet" stated the morning news anchor. "All teachers, students, technologists, and anyone in the healthcare field will only be allotted to use the personal device of a laptop;cell phone usage is not allowed." Stella lived in Jacksonville, Florida but attended UCLA virtually--so she was worried that the time restrictions would be different for both states. As the states proceed to be listed at the bottom of the screen, she sees "California: 8 am-10 am." She then watched nervously as the alphabet kept going along. "Florida: 5 pm-7 pm." Stella's heart sunk immediately into her chest. How is she going to finish her final weeks of graduate school having different time restrictions per state? How is she going to pass her exam? How is she going to live without using her phone?
Stella immediately dashed back to her room to text her friends about the insane new policy but when she tried to send a message, it would not deliver. The new restriction had already been set into place. "How am I going to communicate with people? How am I going to finish work on time?" Stella worried and contemplated how she was going to be able to finish graduate school on time. Her next exam is only a few days away and she frantically worried about how she would get the exam done. After hours of stress, it was finally 5 pm and she could log onto her computer and use the internet for the next two hours. She first reached out to her UCLA professor explaining her situation with the internet restriction and possibilities around how she could take the exam. She knew she would not get an answer until 5 pm the next day. She finished her "internet time" by finishing assignments and trying to SeeTime her friends through video chat to talk about the new craziness upon them.
The next morning Stella woke up to her Siriana telling "It's a new day Stella, let's make it great." Stella dreamt all night of a possible solution to her issue regarding school. She decided that she was going to temporarily move to California to finish her graduate school class and finish the exam on time. She knew this was not going to be an easy move but she knew she had to do it to graduate on time. Stella packed her bags, kissed her dad goodbye, and started her 25-hour road trip with Siriana guiding her way there.
After driving for practically a day with minimal stops, Stella finally made it to UCLA after being three days behind in school and only two days until her final exam.She knew she had tons of work to do but she was determined to get it done. It was 7:55 am in California when she arrived and Stella knew she only had five more minutes until it was "internet time" at UCLA. When 8 am hit Stella immediately started catching up on work, meeting with her professor about the past lectures, and studying for the exam. Stella was able to get all the appropriate work done so she could only focus on studying for her exam. She took the next day to catch up completely on all her assignments. Sadness rained over Stella as she thought about how she could not reach out to her dad via her computer since he did not own any electronics, but she knew in just two days she would be reunited with him and everything would be back to being semi-normal.
It was finally the day of the exam. Stella's Siriana woke her up by saying "Congratulations Stella, it's your last day of grad school, let's ace this exam." This motivated Stella although she had been super nervous about the exam and only studied her paper notes all night long. A sudden "battery lowering" came from Siriana while Stella was getting dressed, but Stella did not have time to charge her assistant since she had to get to the exam. Stella loaded her car up with her time and promptly, at 8 am Stella walked to the classroom. After two hours the exam was finished and she was ready to head back home to her dad. As soon as it finished the professor told her "Congratulations" and she headed back to her car smiling with tears of joy flowing down her cheek. The first thing she wanted to do was call her dad but the restriction rules made her unable to do so. She had the mindset of getting back home to her dad as fast as she could so she could celebrate with him. As she buckled up and hit the road she thought about how proud of herself she was for making the sacrifices to be the first one in her family to graduate from graduate school.
Stella's ride back to Florida started off great. She was jamming to Taylor Swift with her hair in the wind. Although Siriana had died of low battery, Stella used a map to guide her way back to Florida. As the hours went on and the night started to approach, Stella started to get sleepy. She caught herself dozing off while driving but blaring noises of horns would immediately wake her up. A moment after startling herself to wake up, Stella dozed off again but this time she hit a tree. She was immediately frightened and quickly jumped out of the car and panicked. Stella went to the passenger to make sure Sirianna was okay, but she quickly remembered her battery died. She did not know what state she was in and how the internet restriction worked in that area so she could possibly use her laptop. She was on a back road and there were no sights of cars anywhere. How is she supposed to make it back home? How is she supposed to call for help? Stella sat on the side of the road and cried hysterically while hoping that one single car would pass her way...
For more stories check out our class page, Fall 2022
