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There was once a COBOL programmer in the mid to late 1990s. For the sake
of this story, we'll call him Goovoo. After years of being taken for granted
and treated as a technological dinosaur by all the UNIX programmers and
Client/Server programmers and website developers, Goovoo was finally getting
some respect. He'd become a private consultant specialising in Year 2000
conversions. He was working short-term assignments for prestige companies,
travelling all over the world on different assignments, and making more money
than he'd ever dreamed of.
He was working 70 and 80 and even 90 hour weeks, but it was worth it. Soon
he could retire.
Several years of this relentless, mind-numbing work had taken its toll on
Goovoo. He had problems sleeping and began having anxiety dreams about the
Year 2000. It had reached a point where even the thought of the year 2000
made him nearly violent. He must have suffered some sort of breakdown,
because all he could think about was how he could avoid the year 2000 and all
that came with it.
Goovoo decided to contact a company that specialised in cryogenics. He made
a deal to have himself frozen until March 15th, 2000. This was a very
expensive process and totally automated. He was thrilled. The next thing he
would know is he'd wake up in the year 2000; after the New Year celebrations
and computer debacles; after the leap day.
Nothing else to worry about except getting on with his life.
He was put into his cryogenic receptacle, the technicians set the revive
date, he was given injections to slow his heartbeat to a bare minimum, and
that was that.
The next thing that Goovoo saw was an enormous and very modern room filled
with excited people. They were all shouting "I can't believe it!" and "It's
a miracle" and "He's alive!". There were cameras (unlike any he'd ever seen)
and equipment that looked like it came out of a science fiction movie.
Someone who was obviously a spokesman for the group stepped forward.
Goovoo couldn't contain his enthusiasm. "It is over?" he asked. "Is 2000
already here? Are all the millennial parties and promotions and crises all
over and done with?"
The spokesman explained that 2000 had gone, but that there had been a problem
with the programming of the timer on Goovoo's cryogenic receptacle - it
hadn't been year 2000 compliant, and it was now March 15th of 2099, not 2000.
But the spokesman told Goovoo that he shouldn't get excited as someone
important wanted to speak to him.
Suddenly a wall-sized projection screen displayed the image of a man that
looked very much like Bill Gates. This man was Prime Minister of Earth.
He told Goovoo not to be upset. That this was a wonderful time to be alive.
That there was world peace and no more starvation. That the space program
had been reinstated and there were colonies on the moon and on Mars. That
technology had advanced to such a degree that everyone had virtual reality
interfaces which allowed them to contact anyone else on the planet, or to
watch any entertainment, or to hear any music recorded anywhere.
"That sounds terrific," said Goovoo. "But I'm curious. Why is everybody so
interested in me?"
"Well," said the Prime Minister. "2100 is just around the corner, and it
says in your files that you know COBOL........".
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