When the world is without fuel cars…
203X!
23:50
In 10 minutes, my car will be destroyed. The sun will rise tomorrow as usual, and there will be no gasoline cars in this world.
Many years ago, countries introduced countdown watches for fuel vehicles one after another, but people at that time did not take it seriously. They optimistically estimated that it was impossible to completely eliminate fuel vehicles, and at most, fuel and electricity were mixed. But this day has not only come, but also is very thorough, very crisp, and even a little cruel.
I am the last people in the world who still own a gasoline car. We are the car nails of this era. We will die sooner or later, and it will only take time. The world around us is already electric. My wife, my eldest daughter, my youngest daughter, although she is only 14 years old, she already has her own car, because the driverless mode does not require her to be an adult, nor does she need a driver’s license.
23:51
Back then, my driving coach was a middle-aged frustrated man, very thin and tall, who didn’t talk much. He didn’t have the habit of scolding people, and he wouldn’t ask students for Chinese cigarettes, but I still bought him every few practice sessions because I thought he was lonely.
I am also lonely.
At that time, I was unemployed and lovelorn, and every day I had a stone stuck in my heart, causing trouble with the world. In the hot June, no one at the driving school practiced driving, so I decided to practice. When I got dizzy from the sun, the coach drove the car to the shade, and we smoked one by one.
The driving school is gone. Where has the coach gone?
23:52
The reverse parking that tormented me is still tormenting me hilariously.
After the large-scale application of electric vehicles, there is a reversing mode in the car, and the computer can help the owner to park accurately, which directly leads to companies, shopping malls, and even residential areas to reduce the parking space to a little bit. Refusing to park automatically, like me, I used to reverse the car and put a rudder directly into the warehouse, but now I have to turn the steering wheel several times. It almost brought me back to the terrifying moment when I took the driver’s license test more than ten years ago.
23:54
Six minutes to go. Six minutes to myself.
Ever since I have a car, what makes me most happy is not the pleasure of driving, but the feeling of sitting in the car in a daze. Turn off the engine, the car becomes quiet, and I can hear the crunch of leather when I move my body.
The car became a container for me to be alone, without fuel, rice, oil and salt, without intrigue, and the highly concentrated energy after driving was released in an instant. It also became my only unscrupulous place to cry. Sitting in the car wrapped in steel, I was like a baby, and it didn’t matter if I cried.
No more.
The accurate positioning notification of the smart electric car allows my wife to know that I have arrived at the door as soon as possible. If I don’t go home in time, it will attract her attention. Sorry, this gaze is the burden of my speechless look back.
23:57
But I can’t say I’m not happy, and people who are dependent and needed have no right to be unhappy.
From the moment I formed a family with my wife, I vowed to be someone who would bring her happiness as well as my own.
I still remember the first time I went on a date with my wife. I was waiting for her downstairs in my second-hand car. I was afraid that she would dislike my car, so I wiped it well before going, and even the floor mats were dusted, trying my best to be spotless.
The first date was a success, if not for the wife throwing up before getting out of the car.
The second-hand car had many problems. The door rattled, the brakes were stepped on for a meal, and the most important thing was that the gasoline smell was heavy. The wife said that she wanted to vomit when she got in the car.
23:58
I am the 367th person in the world to still own a gasoline car.
Owners of fuel vehicles have a separate cloud community, each with their own virtual coordinates. When someone switches to an electric vehicle, their coordinate indicator will no longer light up.
More and more lights are going out around the world.
It is said that at midnight tonight, there will be intelligent machines controlling public order towing my car.
Friend asked me, why do you stubbornly drive a fuel car? Are you refusing to move forward and want to go against the trend?
And at that moment, I had the answer: I don’t want to go against the world; I just simply don’t want one choice. The tide pushes us forward, but it shouldn’t take away the right to choose.
I like the smell of gasoline, I like the feeling of not so smooth at the beginning, I like to sit in the driver’s cabin in winter and wait for it to wake up. It is my memory, it is an era.
23:59
I hastily opened the door and strode home.
Goodbye, fuel truck.
This article is purely fictional
The story takes place in 203X. At that time, the fuel cars in the world completely disappeared. I am grateful for the time when gasoline cars accompanied human beings. The author boldly imagines how people’s lives, work, emotions, etc. will change in the virtual future, and whether those constant warmth and pursuit are also worthy of our occasional reflections today… In the next issue of "After the World Without Fuel Vehicles…", we will continue to walk into your/my/his future car world.
SAM series serialized micro-novels, creator profile
illustrator
Ye QianqianArtist and designer, born in China, now lives in San Francisco, USA. The artist has emerged from an architectural background and explores the complexities of human-computer interaction. His works cover a variety of mediums such as architectural design, new media, and ink painting. His latest solo exhibition "Alone Not Alone" recently opened at the Landry Gallery in San Francisco. The artist has been active on the social software Instagram for a long time, personal account: @44ian.
Writer
There are billions(Pen name), a freelance writer, who likes all kinds of new and interesting things, loves the way of "opening your mind and opening your eyes", tears and laughter are both low, and you like to get into the movie theater that is smeared with black paint, giggle or cry, and bring your own tissues.
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Original production by Shanghai Automobile Museum, please indicate the source when reprinting.
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