FUTURE SCHLOCK?!%

What’s heading our way? Better yet, what would we like or not like to see heading our way?

We asked Orange County students to tell us what the future looks like from the perspective of 1999.

The questions:

Y2K Wipeout: What would you like to see wiped out by Y2K?

Fast Forward: What changes do you see coming in the new millennium?

Campus Fixes: What changes would you like to see on your campus?

The answers:

Those are sprinkled throughout this section, starting right here.

Transportation will be electric; food synthetic; fashion eccentric; politics hectic.

Dating will be done completely over cell phones, pagers and the computer.

--Jessica Bodwin, 18, Rosary High

Good things to come: solutions to the problems of disease, energy crises and even global warming. The diligence of chemists, environmentalists and research scientists will finally pay off . . . but the power to play God will be too tempting for some. Near perfect artificial intelligence isn’t too far off, meaning a slew of opportunities for corrupt usage and sci-fi robot nightmares.

It’s going to be a great 1,000 years for technology, but whether it’s good for humanity is up to how responsible we are about it.

Oh, yes, and “The Simpsons” will still be on television.

--Phillip Young, 17, Magnolia High

Arnold Schwarzenegger will probably find another opportunity to promote Planet Hollywood. And Harbor Boulevard will not be completed outside Disneyland.

--Monica Castillo, El Modena High

Drive-in movie theaters will be coming back. All wars to be fought in virtual reality via the Internet. Funnel cakes at all schools. Teachers getting paid market value.

--Ryan Bishop, Cypress High