Research out of the University of Washington projects that the global fertility rate will be 1.7 by 2100. The fertility rate is the measure of the average number of children born by each woman. If it falls below ~2, then the population isn’t being replaced, and the total population will begin to decline. (The number isn’t two because of child mortality)
This number–1.7–doesn’t seem so bad until compared to the average in 1950: 4.7.
While this doesn’t mean much at this moment, declining populations start to bring up many economic questions. For example, who pays the taxes that go towards social security? And who performs entry-level jobs? After all, the majority of people will have been in the workforce for decades. There are only so many jobs to go around. But without young people to support the elderly, what option would they have other than to work?
This scenario brings to mind a new world for a story. One where each child is developed with the utmost attention to quality. Like a master caring for a bonsai tree.
The main character would be an older gentleman who loses his well-paying job to an android. He has enough money to live on, but not enough to travel or let loose. To occupy his time, he gets a job teaching.
There, he encounters a young genius who has no problem learning anything thrown at him. The story would be like “Good Will Hunting,” and the main character in the book would be similar to the one portrayed by Robin Williams.
It could be a trilogy, with each book about a different part of the young girl’s life and where she has to encounter various challenges. The first would be teaching her the importance of play, the second acceptance, and the third sharing her gift with the world.
Tagline: What would you do if you were tasked with teaching Einstein?
