creative writing final assignment

6

November 6, 2025

The Catalyst of Tomorrow

The heat would cause the air to wobble in New Jakarta in 2045. The old coal piles had long since been demolished, but the spectres of them stayed hanging in the low cloud that clung to the horizon. The world had once emitted fifty-one billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, and although that number had decreased, the planet was still suffocating.

Aisha stood at the top of the roof of her family's apartment, staring out over the shimmering, impenetrable scrub of solar towers and adrift wind turbines, which powered the city. Her father, Dr. Karim, was one of the first scientists to join the Catalyst Program, a group of philanthropists, governments, and leading companies dedicated to getting the next generation of climate solutions to market in time and at a low enough cost to avoid a climate disaster.

It was Aisha who made his legacy follow.

Her lab was small, just a converted warehouse on the outskirts of the city, but there was much activity that emanated from it. Screens were lit with flickering blue light, under which robots built prototypes. She was developing a long-duration energy storage system, which would be able to harvest the solar energy even when it wasn’t shining. Every component that she touched reminded her of her father's words: "We need to change the way we make just about everything in the next thirty years."

Aisha was a believer in change. She had to.

Leo walked into the laboratory with the merest of sallow looks upon his face. The board has rejected the new source of funding, he added. For conventional investors, it is too risky for traditional investments.

Aisha sighed. She had expected that. "Innovation always was dangerous," she said. "But without risk, we stagnate."

She dropped on the prototype that preceded her - a shining cube of metal and glass. Inside it, small green hydrogen cells were throbbing gently. She also spoke in a low voice: "True, whole cities can be powered if the split water molecules are effective enough. "Just like my father dreamed."

Outside, the wind howled. A darkness and electricity were gathering over the coast. The weather had become capricious, and it had taken decades to get so out of balance. Yet Aisha was beautiful in chaos because she saw the challenge of being born in a world that promoted the idea.

Hours later, when the roof rumbled under the thunder, Leo ran back in. The Catalyst office recently called in, said they are going to proceed with your project!

Aisha froze. "You're serious?"

Designers stated that your design did meet the Catalyzed Emissions Reduction Framework. It can measure the reductions in emissions and the cost of the new technology over time. You will be fully acknowledged as a lead innovator.

For a while, Aisha did not say anything. Then she smiled - a tired smile, hard fought for years, touched with hope. "Then we build," she said. "We make trillion-dollar industries of tomorrow."

Above them, the storm passed, and rain pummelled the solar panels. It experienced more fluctuations with power, and eventually, it stabilized as Aisha's storage cells were strong enough to handle the surge. She watched the readouts go up on the screen: Clean energy generation, Stable emissions offset, Measurable.

They had done it.

Dawn broke, and with the sun came New Jakarta - not burning oil or coal, but burning with the fire of the people who would not wait half a century for a better future. For those of us here who are still working with inertia, who are stuck in something, stuck with someone, science is here for those of you who want to know more, how it is a substance, a medium, change is slowed, or where it is a catalyst that generates a quicker reaction, even if it's a slower whole, it will become a catalyst, meaning it is faster at changing." But in humanity--it's hope."

And for the first time in a century, the air was lighter than it had been throughout the entire world.

Explanation of the Fifteen Incorporated Elements

51 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions – Used to show historical context.

Change the way we make just about everything in the next 30 years – Direct quote expressing urgency.

Greatest opportunity for innovation in human history – Implied through Aisha’s work and ambition.

Trillion-dollar global industries of tomorrow – Direct phrase used in dialogue.

Wind and solar power – Described in the city’s infrastructure.

Too risky for traditional investment – Used in dialogue about funding challenges.

Catalyst program – Central organization in the story.

Philanthropists, governments, and leading companies – Entities supporting Aisha’s work.

Next generation of climate solutions… to avoid a climate disaster – Quoted description of her mission.

Green hydrogen, where we split water molecules – Her project’s leading technology.

Long-duration energy storage so we can use intermittent sources like solar – Her invention’s function.

Catalyzed Emissions Reduction Framework – Framework adopted for measurement.

Measure the reductions in emissions and the cost of new technologies over time – Mentioned explicitly.

Fifty years to go from powering calculators to powering cities – Alluded to in reflection.

In science, a catalyst is something that accelerates a reaction – Used symbolically in the closing line.

Through these elements, the story reflects the optimism, urgency, and innovation themes central to the Clean Energy video.

Works Cited

Gates, Bill. “A New Way to Invest in Clean Energy Innovation: Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.” YouTube, 13 July 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD17uLWd2qA.

Gooogolplex. “What Will Happen in the next 30 Years? The World in 2049.” YouTube, 29 July 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyqVe5xCM4Q