Carousel of Progress: Scene 4

[Father & Chorus]
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that's the start.
He follows his dream in mind and heart
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true for you and me.
So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away.

[Father]
Isn't it a pleasant holiday? Turkey's in the oven, it's peaceful and quiet.

[Son]
Yes! Three hundred points, my best score yet!

[Wife]
Well, it was peaceful until Santa brought that new virtual reality space pilot game.

[Son]
Your turn Grandma. Let's switch the image over to the TV, so the resident flying ace can show you how it works. Now, it's a little tricky. Just use your game glove to fly behind the other guy and then blast him with your laser blaster!

[Grandma]
Laser blaster? Well, I'll give it a try.

[Son]
Take a look around Grandma. You're in the ship.

[Grandma]
I feel like I'm really there!

[Son]
Okay, get ready, you're about to blast off!

[Grandma]
Here goes nothing.

[Son]
Alright, here he comes! Ooh, you missed him.

[Mother]
Hey everyone, I'm done programming out new voice activation system.

[Father]
Now all our household items will do anything we tell them to do.

[Grandpa]
Great. Tell the refrigerator to bring me a root beer.

[Wife]
Well, it can't quite do that. But I'll show you something that it can
do. (to Voice Recognition) Tree lights, thirty percent brighter.

(The tree lights brighten.)

[Grandpa]
Ah, that's no big deal. Anybody can do that voice activating stuff. Watch this. Rover... speak!

(Rover barks.)

[Mother]
John, the oven should respond to your voice commands now. Give it a try.

[Father]
Okay, here goes. Temperature to 375.

[Oven]
Temperature increased to 375.

[Daughter]
Look at that! It even talks back.

[Father]
Like some people I know.

[Daughter]
Yeah right dad!

[Son]
You're going to lose him Grandma! Bank to the right!

[Daughter]
Remember dad's turkey last year?

[Grandpa]
Yeah, that thing really smoked up the place when it burned, didn't it?

[Daughter]
We ended up microwaving frozen pizzas.

[Mother]
Well, no need to worry about the turkey this year. Not with an oven that will do anything your father tells it to do.

[Son]
(to Grandma) Ooo! Good shot!

[Grandma]
Did you see that?!

[Son]
Dad, Grandma's up to 550 points!

[Father]
Did you say 550? Man, she's getting the hang of that thing.

[Oven]
Temperature increased to 550.

[Grandpa]
I can't believe all the new gadgets they've got now. Did you know in my day--

[Daughter]
Oh no. You're not going to tell us about the old days when you didn't even have a car phone.

[Grandpa]
Hey Trish, for a while we didn't even have a house phone. Not to
mention laser discs and high def TV. Everything is automated these days, including...

(We hear a toilet flush.)

[Grandpa]
Well, including that.

[Uncle Orville]
No privacy at all around this place!

[Grandpa]
Sorry Orville. Anyway, you guys don't realize how good you've got it nowadays.

[Mother]
You know, my Grandfather told me the very same thing when I was a kid.

[Grandma]
(to VR Game) Take that you nincompoop!

[Son]
Hey check it out dad. Grandma's up to 975 points.

[Father]
Wow! 975.

[Oven]
Temperature increased to 975. (Oven stars beeping.)Overload-overload...

[Mother]
John, what's wrong with the oven?

[Father]
Well-- Uh...

[Oven]
Bake Mode complete. Enjoy your meal.

[Daughter]
Anyone for pizza?

[Mother]
Another Christmas turkey ruined.

(Grandma's game ends.)

[Grandma]
Man what a game! I really smoked those guys. Looks like I'm resident flying ace now.

[Son]
Best two out of three Grandma?

[Grandma]
Later kid. Boy that was fun. What will they think up next?

[Daughter]
Who knows? We've got a whole new century waiting for us out there.

[Mother]
Yeah, and maybe sometime in the new century, your father will learn how to talk to out oven.

[Father]
Well, by then maybe ovens will read out minds. But hey, as long as we're all here and happy and together for the holidays, who cares if I burned out Christmas turkey?

[Grandma]
I do! I'm starving.

(Everyone laughs.)

[Son]
Don't worry dad. Someday, everything is going to be so automated, you won't ever have to cook another Christmas turkey again.

[Father and Chorus]
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away

[Mother]
Man has a dream and that's the start.

[Father]
He follows his dream in mind and heart

[Daughter]
And when it becomes a reality,

[Grandpa]
It's a dream come true for you and me.

[Chorus]
So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.

[Father]
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow

[Chorus]
Just a dream away.