Chapter Eight: Caught Somewhere in Time

I set the Sequencer for the summer of 1991. Location, Southern Idaho.

As I emerged from the deserted mine shaft near Camas Prairie, I made my way up the ridge of a large hill to get a better view. Not long after, I heard a train whistle and off in the distance I saw my past self getting thrown from the train that day Grady kicked me from the boxcar. Perfect. My timing was impeccable. As the train came around the bend near the hill I was on, I took off running and caught the side of one of the boxcars.

Hand over fist, I made my way to the train car Grady was on. Once aboard, I dropped down and to his surprise, I said, “Hello Grady.”

Looking like he saw a ghost he replied, “Well, what the hell? How’d you do that? And what happened to your clothes?”

I explained everything to him, right from the beginning. I told him all I had done since this very day and how I was a time traveling, martial artist, with a background in bass guitar and doing jobs for the Russian Mafia. Any sane person wouldn't have believed me. But seeing how it was Grady, and the fact that he had just spent the last three days with my former self, I knew he was just the right amount of crazy to understand.

That night, camped under a night sky full of stars from the view of our parked boxcar and with the light of Grady’s tin can campfire, I asked him, “Grady. You’re an expert at reaching out and grabbing the things you want in life right?”

“That’s right,” he said, ”and you’re not so shabby yourself. What is it you’re wanting to

know?”

“That’s just it. I’ve been on this trek for years now and I thought there was no such thing as a roadblock for me anymore. But now that I have all these skills at my disposal and even a freakin time travel device, I’m stuck just being someone else's lackey again. No different than the shampoo factory. What do I need to do to spark that frontiersman attitude again?”

“Well, first of all. Nobody says you gotta do whatever Mr. Tet tells you just because he kept you out of trouble. Sounds to me like you have your doubts about his motives anyway. If you’ve gone and killed for him, and brought back the other device, I think that’s fair trade enough for what he did for you back at the INTERPOL office. No reason to put yourself into indentured servitude.”

“Then what do you suggest I do? Where should I go? Won’t he just eventually send some other fighter into the stream of time to hunt me down like I did to Ken?”

“Hmm,” Grady thought, “Maybe. But what about taking it upon yourself to find out what he’s up to? If you’re looking for a new adventure, why not start with the greatest mystery you know of? ‘The secret of Tet’s research’. Surely that at least interests you?”

Grady was right! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I didn’t need to mess his plans up. I just needed to find out what was going on. But there was just one problem.

“It’s not like I can just go back to central command and ask one of the aids to show me all the data. The agents there may not be as tough as me one on one, but they’d probably shoot me dead before I even got close to one of those terminals. Besides, I don't even know how to use a computer.”

“Son, I don’t mean to be rude,” Grady said, “but you’ve got a fuckin time machine. If you’re only curious about the research, why not travel forward into the future to a time where the research has likely been completed and you can see for yourself the fruits of all this running around those agents have been doing?”

“Holy shit, Grady, you’re a genius!” I remarked.

“Well, I don’t know all about that now. Just givin my two cents.”

Just then, the train started moving again. I pulled back my sleeve and started tinkering with the display. How far should I go? If I go too soon into the future past 1994, I’ll likely make a splash and Tet will know something is up and he’ll send an agent after me sooner rather than later. If I go too far ahead, I’d run into oblivion. When was it Brittany said was the hard cutoff point forward travel?

“Mr. Tet developed the device some time after the year 2230, so that should be considered the hard stopping point for forward travel,” her words echoed in my head.

Okay, cool. So, I’ll just set the coordinates to 2220. That’s plenty far back from the zero point of the device's creation to not make any mistakes but far enough into the future that I should be able to get my answers. I’ll also set the coordinates to the Dark Space near the command center, that way I can scope out any evidence of changes from there.

“Grady,” I said, as I stood up with the train moving at full speed once again, ”you’ve done it once again. You’ve made a real difference in this man's life.”

“Haha! Teach a man to fish!” He shouted while shaking my hand.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

“Oh look, the train’s coming up on a tunnel,” I said looking out the boxcar door, “and I’m picking up a Dark Space nearby. It must be in there.”

“Oh, Guy,” Grady said, “just one more thing.”

I turned to him and saw him holding my wallet.

“Thanks for the new wallet,” he said just before kicking me from the train like he did years earlier/the day before.

I was ejected from the train just as we entered the tunnel, but instead of smacking the ground, my body fell through the Dark Space my device had picked up. Grady and his impeccable timing. I had never fallen through a Dark Space before, only walked. But I activated the device and felt that warm pink glow come over me. Next thing I knew, I hit the ground and the glow disappeared. There was just one problem. I landed directly on the Bracer and damaged the display.

Panic set in. There I was in this dark cave with Dark Spaces all around me and the Sequencer was no longer working. Did I make it to 2220? Would I be stuck here? What’s the world like outside? I mean, I suppose it would be alright if I were stuck in the future, but what happens if time marches up until the point the device is created and I get wiped from existence? All these thoughts raced through my head. Dammit Grady!

After pacing around for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and check my surroundings. I could see most of the Dark Spaces were to my left and the right seemed to be more cavernous. So I walked in that direction. It didn’t take long before I realized I’d been here before. This was the spot in the mountains that housed the Central Command base, over two hundred and twenty five years ago. There were still tables, chairs, and desks sitting around, abandoned after the team left. No computers or anything really useful, just furniture. I wondered where they went, or if they’re even in this time lane or off in another?

I thought it best for me to not screw around in the mountain too long so I made my way through some tunnels, hoping to find my way out to the surface. It didn’t take long before I started to see light and heard the sound of rushing water. A waterfall! Excellent. I strolled out the mouth of the cave near a moderate sized rush of water. I looked out and could see forestry below. Without wasting any time, I made my way down.

At the bottom of the hills, I found a sign that said, ‘Seven Devils, Population: 253’. I thought to myself, at least if I make a ruckus there’s only a small amount of people around that I could red flag myself to. So, I went on down the road to the town of Seven Devils. It seemed normal enough. The buildings looked a little more futuristic than what I was used to in the late 1900s but nothing space aged. For the most part it just seemed like a regular old country town.

I saw a sign that said, ‘General Store’, so I went in there thinking that it would be an alright place to find general information about my surroundings. When I walked in the door, the guy behind the counter was wearing a red shirt and a leather vest. Didn’t seem too out of place from what I’d expect in the past. He said, “Hey there stranger, what can I do ya for?” with an expected twangy Appalachian mountain accent.

Before I could reply he gave me a look over and added, “Is there a Retro Convention going on, over in Boone or somethin?”

I realized he was talking about my clothing. He may not have looked as unfamiliar as I’d have expected, but I definitely looked out of place to him.

I simply said, “No friend, I’m from way far away from here. We don’t have the same fashion sensibilities that you have over here.”

He looked a little puzzled but shrugged acceptingly.

I continued, “Say, I’m wondering if you can point me to anyone who knows how to fix electronics. Specifically hi-tech circuitry?”

“Hmm,” he groaned, “that’s kinda hard to come by way out here. But maybe over at the University. In fact, you know what, there used to be a young girl here in Seven Devils that knew her way around circuit boards. She lives over in Boone now and attends the university as far as I know. Name’s Cinema I believe.”

“How far is Boone?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s just a little down the ways. Get on the 105 and foller it east until you reach town.

Look for the signs to the University. You can’t miss ‘em.”

“Thanks mister,” I said. I really wanted to buy something from him but Grady got my wallet and besides, it probably blow this guy's mind if I pulled out a $20 from 1990.

So, I left the little town, heading in the direction he suggested. When the road went uphill, I struggled to keep my breath due to the incline and thin mountain air. But it was what I saw up top that truly took my breath away. I could see the small city of Boone not far in the distance, but just due east of the town, was a coastline, as far as the eye could see on the horizon. It was the Atlantic Ocean. But how could this be? It was way too far inland to come up on the Appalacians like that!

Once I got over my amazement, I started moving again and going downhill was much easier. It took several hours, but I made it. Coming into town was a treat all of its own. It was much more futuristic looking than Seven Devils was. There were neon signs, robotic displays in windows and on the side of the road, and lo and behold, flying cars and buses landing on the street like a runway. It was like something right out of Back to the Future. Of all my journeys, this might’ve been the most amazing thing I’d seen, barring the reanimated corpse, turning into a chick, and the guy with ice breath.

I was thoroughly worn out from trekking up and down several mountains that day and I wasn’t sure what to do. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to just go sleep on the street. Especially since it seemed like it would rain soon. So I figured I’d have to obtain some lodging the old fashion way…lifting someone's wallet and paying for it with the spoils!

I saw lots of people on the street and didn’t seem to raise too many eyebrows since it was getting dark. I passed a young couple, probably college students, and decided the guy would be my target for stealing his wallet. As I got near them, I made the move to sweep in and snatch at his pocket. But just before I made contact, his rubbery Blue jacket made audible noises at me.

It said, “Back up! You are too close to my personal space. Please back up!”

I stammered away, shocked at what I had just seen. The couple looked at me, confused. I picked up my stride and ran off into the alleyways. I made a conscious affirmation that theft may not work out as my best option in this environment. So I walked the streets a bit more. Eventually, I came across a YMCA. Perfect! I could probably beg or barter my way into a room for the night.

There was a glass window on the side of the building with a guy sitting in a little booth. He was reading what looked like a newspaper, but it was clear plastic, like a shower curtain. Everytime he folded it, the page would change to other pictures and text. Just as it started to rain, I inquired about accommodations.

“Hey buddy. I was wondering something. I’m falling on some hard times right now and I was wondering if an exception could be made to stay the night, just once?”

The guy looked at me like I had two heads and with that famous drawl in his voice said, “I don’t understand the problem?”

Befuddled, I repeated myself but with different words, “I’m out of money and I need a place to sleep. It would be just for the night and if I get the opportunity before I leave town, I’d try to pay you back for it.”

He kept looking at me confused and then finally said, “Mister, did you hurt your head. Why don’t you just give me a bio identification scan and then figure out your own way to pay debt back later. Shouldn’t concern me at all.” He then pointed to a red hand print sensor on the wall next to his little window.

I didn’t ask anymore questions and I put my hand over the sensor. It flickered yellow and said, “Biometrics match, not found,” I tried it again and it repeated itself.

The man behind the glass put his silicone paper down and said, “Oh, ok, I think I get what you was tryin to say a minute ago. You’re having trouble with your identifications lately and you can’t make payment anywhere you go. So, you wanted to see if we could help ya out?”

Quick wittedly I replied, “Yeah, that’s right. Those goddamn ID, hand sensor…things.

Don’t make ‘em like they used to right?!”

He looked at me and said, “Just hold your hand to it and I’ll make a scan of your metrics.

We’ll bill your Crypto account and it’ll straighten out later.”

I agreed and put my hand to it. This time the handprint turned white and seemed to make a scan, kinda like a Xerox machine. It then flashed green and I saw what I assumed to be the credit total of the cost of one night flash on the screen.

“Last name?” He asked.

“Guy,” I replied.

The man behind the counter said, “Alright, you’re in Capsule 7. Did you want a wakeup call in the morning?”

I said, “Sure, how about 7AM?”

He shook his head and said, “7AM? What is this, the 2100s. I assume you want up at

0700?”

”Yea, that’s right,” I said, just as a door slide open from the floor up next to the window,

“thanks for everything.”

I went in and found a corridor of several small doors in sets of two stacked on one another. They each had a number above them so I walked down to number 7 and it opened when I pressed it. Inside was a little capsule I could climb into. A small bed, a lamp, a little storage compartment. It was actually quite comfortable. Once I got tucked in, I saw there was a little drop down screen where I could watch television. They had the craziest shows on. There was one where Paul Revere was riding down the street firing a Winchester repeating rifle shouting, ‘The Loyalists are coming! The Loyalists are coming!’ It seemed like a vain attempt at historically accurate drama. It didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep and in the morning, at exactly 0700, I was awoken by a surprise.

“Good morning Mr. Guy,” a female voice echoed inside my capsule. Then suddenly, a shaft behind my headboard opened up and the mattress I was on slid towards it. I was grabbed by robotic clamps and pulled the rest of the way out and stood on my feet like a ragdoll. Then hot water turned on and I realized I was standing in a shower booth behind the wall of my capsule. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, and water sprayed from all directions, washing me, clothes and all. Then a screen on the wall turned on and there was a beautiful computer generated woman dressed as hotel staff.

“Hello Mr. Guy, I hope you rested well,” she said, in the same voice I heard before.

“Umm, yeah,” I muttered as robotic arms with brushes and sponges came out and scrubbed me.

“Teehee,” she snickered, “Mr. Guy, you slept with your clothes on. Why did you request the wakeup service if you weren’t going to be stripped down for it? You should’ve opted out of the autoshower.”

“Yeah, well, I just thought I’d try something new this morning.”

Just then, a little bin opened up on the wall and the woman said, “Here, you can place your clothes in there and we’ll have them dry cleaned for you by the time your shower is over.

Would you like some coffee?”

I took my clothes off and put them in the bin and the door closed. The shower started over and I said, “Yes, please just don’t spray it on me.”

She laughed and said, “how would you like it?”

I said, “Two creams, two sugars,” and a moment later a cup of coffee appeared just out of splash range from the shower.

I took a drink and noticed that just below the screen of the hotel assistant was a touch screen setting. It read, ’Vanity Setting: Off, Moderate, High, and Mature.’ Being the curious fellow I am, I clicked the Mature setting.

Just then, the Computer based girl's eyes lit up and she gasped. She appeared to look down at me and said in a very sultry voice, “Oh, Mr Guy. You’re looking exceptionally virile today,” she groaned and continued, “and so ample…”

I clicked the off button before she continued further. I just wasn’t ready for this level of modern convenience with my 20th century mind.

She continued on normally and said, “Your clothes are ready Mr. Guy. Just exit the shower and retrieve them. We hope to have you stay again sometime.”

Then the water stopped, a door slid open and a conveyor belt moved me through an air drying system on the other side where a towel was waiting. I stepped out of the room and was in another corridor where my clothes and other items I was carrying were awaiting. I suited back up and followed the corridor to the exit out onto the street. I had survived my first day in the 23rd Century.

I knew then that I had to find this Cinema girl. She was my best and probably only chance to repair the Bracer’s display. I probably had very limited time if Tet and his people decided back in the past when I never returned to send someone after me. They would’ve traced my Sequencer signature to this time lane just as I had tracked Ken. It probably wouldn’t take long for the hunter to find the area I was in if the encounters I made raised enough eyebrows. Of course, my advantage would be that I was in the future, not the past, so they wouldn’t as easily be able to predict my movements since they wouldn’t have history to go on. It probably didn’t hurt that I visited Grady first. They would've had to find the Dark Space in the train tunnel I fell through before following me here.

My instinct told me to go right to the college campus of course, but I knew I couldn’t just walk around asking if anyone knew Cinema. That would raise too many suspicions. So I decided to sneak my way inside using the same trick I used to get the capsule at the YMCA. I just feigned having issues with my handprint signature and security let me right in. Must be super safe in the future because they didn’t even question me. So I went down to the Dean of Admissions office. A middle aged blonde woman at the desk looked me over and disdainfully asked me, “Umm, can I help you?”

I had already rehearsed my response, “Uh, yes. I’m going to be student teaching here in a few weeks and I was wondering if I could look at the student files to get a better idea of the people in the classes I’ll be working with.”

She stared blankly at me before uttering, “Aren’t you a little old to be a student teacher?”

I replied, “It’s my last year and I was sent here last minute to make sure I passed this time. I was told Appalachian State was the premiere University for people teaching in my field.”

“What’s your field? Mister…”

“Guy! And it’s umm…history! That’s why I’m in costume as someone from the 20th century!” I said, noticing she hadn’t changed her expression.

“This is the school of technology, Mr. Guy,” she replied.

Dammit, I didn’t think that one through. I came here because it’s the most likely place to find Cinema since she’s supposed to be good with tech. I had to think fast and cover all the bases I could, “Right! It’s a special concentration on the history of…mechanical engineering…and…theoretical physics…with a minor in…Advanced Circuitry?”

“So you’re a History major who focuses on 20th century engineering and theoretical physics, with a minor in Advanced Circuitry?”

She paused for a moment and before I could say anything else she continued, “Mr. Guy, I don’t know what the hell you’re up to or why you’d want to look through the student files. And I can’t think of any nefarious reasons you’d want to. But my job is literally babysitting this desk. So if you promise not to leave the files out of alphabetical order and that you’ll never give me a reason to come testify in court, I’ll let you take a look.”

“Oh, yes ma’am. I swear it. You have my word. I won’t even take five minutes.”

She nodded for me to go ahead and go into the filing room behind her. I ran back there hurriedly and went straight to the C’s. But then horror washed over my face. I then realized an enormous error in my plan. How would I find her under the C’s if that’s her first name and the files are alphabetized by last name?

I fell to my knees behind a wall of file cabinets. The hopelessness of the situation consumed me. For the first time since I worked at the factory I wanted to cry. I audibly called out, “Please god, help me.”

Then a voice answered, “I’m not a deity but perhaps I can be of service?”

I looked around and it only took me a moment to realize, it was the wall of file cabinets that was speaking to me. It had its own artificial intelligence system. I wasted no time and asked, “Yes, can you help me find a student? Her first name is Cinema, I know nothing else about her.”

Just then, a drawer opened up and the voice replied, “Cinema Zang, Hometown: Seven Devils, North Carolina, Age: 15, Height: 158.5cm, Weight 51.6kg…” the A.I. rambled on as I pulled the physical file out to look at it and burn the image into my mind so I could find her.

“Academic Status: Technology Major, Sophomore year, Political Alignment: Left Leaning Libertarian…” it droned on.

“Wait, she’s 15 years old and she’s a sophomore in college?” I said aloud but realized that the students here all leaned younger. Though even by that metric, she still seemed young for that demographic. Perhaps here in the future, primary school is shortened and people get on with college quicker. After all, that lady at the desk said I was too old to be a student teacher. I’m no spring chicken, but I’m not even middle aged yet. Cinema must just be so intelligent that she’s even a cut above her peers.

“Correct,” the computer answered my last inquiry, “She is on the premises now as a matter of fact.”

“She is? Where is she?” I asked enthusiastically.

“She scanned into the study hall on the west wing of the campus 23 minutes ago.”

“Thanks a ton Mr. Robotic voice,” I said as I put the file back, giving it one last look before leaving to ensure I could recognize her.

I dashed out of the filing room and burst past the lady at the desk, thanking her on my way out. In an all out sprint once I got outside, I made my way to the west wing. When I got inside the study hall, I looked around and saw no more than a half a dozen students moving around and three sitting. On the far side of the room, away from everyone else was her, the girl from the picture. That had to be Cinema. I calmed down and slowly approached.

Cinema was a short, small framed girl with long black pointy pig tails shrouding the side of her frame. She probably wasn’t more than 120lbs soaking wet with shoes on. Her skin was porcelain white and though she looked mostly caucasian, she had a bit of east asian descent in her. Which could also be inferred by her last name, Zang. Her eyes had an unnatural sparkly pupil which I would later learn was the result of parents in the past century fashionably choosing genetic traits for their children in utero. Her hair was solid black on one pig tail and solid red on the other, which was reflected in her fashion choice of red and black. Like a deck of cards. She was an attractive young girl. All things considered, she looked like a living anime character. Absolutely a product of the century she was born into.

“Excuse me, Miss Cinema,” I asked as I stood in front of her while she was typing away on her little futuristic laptop.

“Go away,” she said without looking up in that same Appalachian twang of an accent everyone else in this region had.

“Please, it will just take a moment of your time,” I begged.

“Go away. I’m busy,” she urged again.

I was starting to get discouraged so I asked again, “Please miss, I was told by a friend of yours you could help me…”

She interrupted, “I don’t have friends. And if I did, they wouldn’t send strangers up to me while I was studying. Now go away before I call security.”

Okay, this was getting serious. I went through all this to find her and for all I know, there was some time bounty hunter downtown at this very moment asking about me. I had to be as direct as possible and make the next thirty seconds count or she’d never hear me out again.

I sat down in front of her and said, “Listen, I lied. It wasn’t a friend that sent me. The guy running the general store in Seven Devils told me about you. He told me you could fix just about anything, and I’ve got some serious hardware here that’s broken and I need you.”

I rolled up my sleeve in front of her and laid my arm with the Bracer down on the table, causing her to look away from her computer for the first time.

I went on saying, “This is called a Sequence Bracer. I’m a time traveler from the year 1994 and I’m stuck here until this thing gets working again. Now tell me, are you as good as I’ve been told you are? Or are you just some stuck up little bitch that can’t fix a toaster?”

She looked me right in the eyes, then down at the Bracer. She touched it a little bit then looked up at me and smirked, “Come on. Let’s get out of here and talk about this away from prying ears.”

We left the campus and started walking into town. I asked her, “So, you believe me then?”

“No,” she said, “but I’m intrigued. The act is good if you’re a fake. The clothes are interesting but your reference to me fixing a toaster did it. A toaster as a single solitary appliance hasn’t been used in over a hundred years. You’d have to really know your shit to make that part of your spiel. I calculate that there’s at least a 60% chance you’re telling the truth.”

“I am telling the truth, you’ll see,” I added.

“Well that’s why we left the campus. If you were telling the truth, I didn’t want the security sensors picking you up as some kind of threat and having you arrested.”

“Really? They have that technology in the study hall?” I asked.

“They have that technology in almost every public place. Keeps things quiet,” she answered.

“Well then, what if I’m not telling the truth. Wouldn’t you be safer there than walking off with me somewhere?” I asked out of curiosity.

“In this day and age as long as you’re in town you’re usually within earshot of a security sensor. Authorities would be on you like flies on shit if I yelled for help.”

Things started to make a lot more sense now about why everyone was so laid back about safety and security here.

She stopped suddenly and said, “Ha! Flies on shit. How’d you like that use of a 20th century idiom? Judging by your reaction, you didn’t have to think about it. It made sense to you!

I now give you an 80% chance of telling me the truth. Let’s go to that park and talk.”

I followed her over to the park where we saw a dog chasing a robotic cat run by. We sat down at a picnic table and she said, “Alright, show me this bracelet of yours.”

I held it out to her and started to explain how time bands fling you up and down time lanes and told her about how I ended up in this situation. She took the Bracer off of me and pulled a tiny tool kit out of her messenger bag and opened it up.

“Wow,” she exclaimed, “this circuitry is extremely advanced, even by 23rd century standards. When did you say it was built?”

“I don’t know. Like a decade or two from now at the most. They were intentionally vague on the exact date for safety reasons. I was told not to go past 2230. There was a block put on the device to prevent it from going there and beyond.”

She spent the next five minutes quietly looking it over without any more questions. Then she closed it back up and handed it to me before saying, “Okay, I 95% believe you now.”

“Excellent. Can you fix it?”

She exhaled a sigh and said, “So here’s the thing. I can’t guarantee I can get it to function in the way you’ve been using it. But, with the right parts and a little effort, I should be able to get it to turn on again. Maybe then you can get it to send you back.”

“Okay, what about payment? I have no money to buy the parts or pay you for the services. I could find some work in the meantime but I doubt I’d make enough in time.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, waving me off, “I have a trust fund. I can get the parts for you. And if you really are a time traveler, I wanna watch you zap out of here. That’ll be enough payment to make it worth it for me.”

“That’s so awesome! I can’t thank you enough,” I shouted.

“Don’t thank me at all yet. This will still require some luck,” she noted as she pulled out her laptop and clicked around a bit, “Okay, good, I’ve ordered the parts. They’re inbound now via a drone from Scandinavia but it’ll take some time to get here.”

“So what should I do until then?” I asked.

She replied, “Well, you’re a time traveler, I might as well show you around as a tourist, and you can tell me about the 20th century. I’ve actually always been fascinated by that time in history.”

And so there I was, well on my way to getting the device fixed. I spent the next two days getting a history lesson from Cinema about what happened over the last two hundred and twenty-five years. She told me that climate change, famine, war, and peoples lifestyle choices caused the world's population to plummet in the previous century. It had gone down to just under 2 Billion but was currently sitting at 2.73 Billion. The polar ice caps had melted and put an incredible amount of the earth's coasts under water. Countries like Japan and the UK were only a third of their 20th century size. This explains why I saw the coastline from the mountains my first day there. The whole eastern seaboard, gone. New York City, Maine, Atlanta, Florida, completely submerged. Places inland were thriving and places like Appalachian State University were doing well to replace the old coastal colleges. Saudi Arabia was rich with farmland now. There was a colony on the moon with about two hundred thousand people living on it and a base camp on Mars with about ten thousand. But this was all recent. Cinema described a kind of second Dark Age that went into effect sometime around the turn of the 22nd century. A breakdown of society occurred, causing a lot of information to disappear. There was a global stagnation. This explained why there was a jump in technology to be sure, but it wasn’t lightyears ahead of what I was used to.

As far as Cinema herself, she said that education in the old world was a dated concept and that now children would get all the basic education that is needed by no later than age sixteen. Secondary school was typically attended by people aged 16-18 and graduate school was for 19-20 year olds. She however had finished her basic education at twelve and did a year of prep school at thirteen before starting at the University. She also told me that her Grandfather was a Chinese soldier during the occupation of North America starting in the year 2114. There had been fighting before but it was mostly a peacekeeping and humanitarian mission. He met her grandmother at a food delivery camp in West Virginia circa 2135. Things simmered way down by 2150 and the world started going back to its natural trajectory. Albeit with smaller coastlines and a lot less people. Her parents had been killed during an accident on the lunar colony while she was in prep school. I also discovered that sometime at the end of the 22nd century it became popular to name children after archaic or obsolete things. Hence Cinema’s name. Besides hers, some of my favorite names I heard during the time I spent in that era were Rink, Privacy, and Dubstep…though I have no idea what the hell that last one is named after.

I also learned that she wasn’t kidding about the safety protocols. Despite what people back in my time thought, in the future it was even easier to have a weapon. However, to use it would signal for a police response to the likes of which never imagined by the authorities I was familiar with. You could even print conventional weapons right out of a machine in your home. Yet no one felt in any immediate danger. On the rare occasion that someone acted out, they were swiftly identified and dealt with.

In addition to her teaching me about this time period, she was fascinated by not only the tales of my many exploits but also what she called, ‘the melancholy of the 1990s’. She fondly looked to that period of time with the same fervor as someone from my time would about Victorian England, or the Wild West, or Feudal Japan.

Walking around the 23rd century Carolina’s was like walking around a theme park. But by the end of the second day, the parts arrived. We were at a cafe downtown when a little hover drone flew up and dropped a package next to our table. By the time we left, the second plane arrived. She said she would need a day to work on it but to come to her dorm the following evening to get a status update on it. I agreed and spent the next day just wandering around on my own.