X Minus One – The Veldt, Ray Bradbury. ep12, 550804.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:47 — 10.9MB)

In this futuristic story by Ray Bradbury, we find a young family who moves into their dream home. The house is full of the latest in high tech appliances, conveniences, and recreation equipment. The highly automated home featured a nursery where the kids had a special room where holographic technology could produce any environment. All you need to do is think it, and the room changes. Sights, sounds, and even smells.

As mom and dad do their own thing, the kids enjoy the nursery. All is well until, one scene in the nursery is disturbing to mom and dad. It’s a scene from the grasslands of Africa, complete with lions. This won’t be dangerous will it? Worried parents put their foot down, and threaten to pull the plug on the house. The kids don’t want to leave, or do without their special room.

Before they go and pull the plug to get away from the high tech conveniences, the kids hide in the room, and when mom and dad go to get them, the kids are gone, but those lions are getting a little too close, and are looking a little too hungry. Nice little lions, sweet little lions… where, oh where is Simba, Timoane, and Poombah when you need them. Akunamatata?

Note: A nice little story that is still relevant as parents deal with all the gadgets and toys that kids today have. A story of trade offs between being an involved parent, and one with a hands off attitude and hoping technology can take the place of relationships. And did the lions really eat the parents? Well, just listen to the end and the psychologist in the story will tell you all about it.