While the world was hacking growth and redefining the future, and the future of travel, a pandemic swooped in and we are at a stage of global reset of travel from here on.
Image courtesy @ Science Times
I love everything about travelling; going to new places, meeting diverse people, trying out local cuisines and exploring new cultures. Given the fascination, I couldn’t help wonder how would travel change in a post COVID “virus around the corner all the time” scenario? What happens to the joy of travelling, how would we travel without actually meeting unknown people, avoiding contact with common surfaces? How would I travel from Mumbai to New York …my favourite city?
Let’s explore some absurd, quirky and realistic travel possibilities in future.
An Absurd Probability
"Beam me up Scotty” - an iconic dialogue in Star Trek where through a fictional teleportation machine you can going from one location to other in seconds …like magic! Basically, an operator dematerialises the "thing" to be transported; by heating it up to a million times the temperature of the core of the sun can be beamed at the speed of light. Given our current understanding of biology and physics, a living creature could never survive such a process; nevertheless, that heat would be an effective way to kill the virus !
Even if the body could be dematerialised and dematerialised at the other end, what about my consciousness and personality? Will it change? Will I head to nearest Burrito Café or my favourite pub Spotted Pig when I reach New York or will I be a different person?
Our consciousness is likely not something that can be dissolved and remade. That’s a hope, our consciousness is that of a traveler and a wanderer, we will find ways to travel, but certainly not this teleportation.
A Future Possibility
And here comes my favourite superhero: Iron Man . Scotty may not happen, but speaking to a Jarvis like assistant seems like a possibility. Remember the Iron Man suit? -which assembles together on him at his command and flies him at a speed ranging between 5600 mph and 6700 mph?
There are few companies around the world exploring this technology. The most popular one is The Jet Suit from a British company; Gravity Industries. The suit developed by maverick entrepreneur Richard Browning weighs 27 kg and is without fuel, powered by five mini jet engines that allows you to fly at 32 mph. It can reach altitudes of 12,000 feet. It is far away from an Iron man suit speed but it is definitely a start! Rocket Belts, JetLev, Jetpack JV 10, Kitty Hawk, Jet Man, Flyboard, Flying Hoverboards, Hendo, Tricopters- these are some of the airborne innovations in the R & D stage.
We might soon(50yrs?) be able to fly - all strapped into jetpacks making us feel like Super Heroes for a few moments, but flying to New York? Well, that I guess will still happen in superhero movies for now!
But if we should - is another matter.
Current Reality
Back to reality, YES we will travel again. Travelling will be very now a very thoughtful decision for next one year at least, even if we do, it will be after 100 risk assessment question, by then the whole joy of travelling will be lost in this paranoia.
Until 9/11, we never walked through security scanners to enter airports and hotels. Now we do so without batting an eyelid, even handing over our purses and phones as we are electronically scanned. Similarly, health and sanitisation will be the next threat that will be closely monitored. The next time you walk into an airport, you will see people walking in designated circles 6 ft apart and aircrafts may have only half as many seats occupied as you would normally find. This is probably what would happen to travel in the short term. We may walk around airports like super heroes in Hazmut suits or mask & gloves instead of sci-fi teleportation or the hi-fi gadgetry Jetpack suit.
Nostalgically, we will recollect days when we could dream of a holiday or jet set to any city around the world for business deals. Travelling wasn’t cheap, but that was how we loved to live, larger than life, moving from point A to B and to every other city quickly. We have taken pride in saying I had breakfast in City A, Lunch in City B and Dinner in city C all in a day!
While we are planning for a new normal or the better normal, one thing I definitely hope comes back from the Old Normal is the joy of a traveler!
Never let your memories be greater than your dreams!
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