Janie Meyers, a university student majoring in environmental science while living at home, went to the kitchen, grabbed a cup, opened the faucet, filled the cup all the way up, took a few sips, and then tossed the rest into the sink.

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Frank, her father.

"Uh, drinking water?"

"More like wasting water …"

"Oh Frank, lighten up, this isn't like the before times," said Janie's mother, Susan.

Stolen story; please report.

"The before times?" Janie hand-washed her cup and placed it on a dish rack.

"Yes, your father and I grew up during the Climatic Nexus, when there were floods and severe drought, all at the same time, depending on where you lived, of course."

"Oh right, I learned all about that in an environmental history class called 'The Climate Crisis Tipping Point.'"

Frank huffed and walked away.

Janie continued, "But we have the NRRAS: National Robotic Rapid Aqueduct System. Robots collect water all over the nation, filter it, and rapidly distribute it through a vast underground tunnel network."

"Yes, of course, I know that, honey." Susan smiled. "Pay no attention to your father and his old-fashioned ways.”