January 1, 2054
“Welcome to the ‘world of tomorrow’ Mr Barnes.”
The wormhole to the 2005 Anchor closed behind Jacob leaving him and Eelai in his 2054 apartment. Jacob glanced around the room, looking for tell tale signs of futuristic living. He saw none. Meanwhile, Eelai was talking to him, explaining his situation.
“This apartment is a safe house for Castors, the rent is paid regularly by the Guild, and no one will bother you here. You have full virtua and net access, as well as an assortment of contemporary news and cultural reference works. You have roughly six months to acclimate yourself with this time before I return to retroactively establish the identity you will use when joining Project Flashback, which will form around that time. Any questions?”
About a million immediately popped into Jacob’s head, but he managed to get out the one that he felt mattered most, “How do I get something to eat?”
Eelai actually smiled, “There’s a fully stocked refrigerator here, but if you ever need me, just contact me through the simmats like you were shown.”
“Ok, thanks.”
A wormhole sprang into existence, and Eelai bowed before stepping through. “Have fun Mr Barnes.” he said from the Anchor.
Jacob went to the window and drew back the curtains, preparing himself for the futuristic panorama that awaited him. Instead, he was greeted with a rather pedestrian view of the New York skyline. Where were the flying cars? The vast monolithic super skyscrapers?
The future sucks!
This pronouncement soon changed when Jacob came face to face with the area that received the most significant improvements in the last 50 years, computers. He spent 20 minutes trying to find the keyboard only to discover to his chagrin that it was virtual, and there was no mouse. Once he had access to the mid Twenty-First Century’s answer to the internet though, he was hooked. Going back home and using browsers from the turn of the century was not a prospect he looked forward to.
Almost everything he was familiar with in the computer world was gone. HTML, Javascript, OOP, blogs, wikis, email, you name it. All replaced. Instead he found himself in a cyber-verse dominated by GAOD, K-Twerp, C#2, waves, Ans, gotos, virtua and more. Even Google was no more, bought up by something called AstroMedia, an ever-present conglomerate that seemed to have their hands in every pie out there. His fancy touchscreen computer for instance was running, not Windows or Mac OS X, but AstroMedia’s OS called Lilly.
Amid his information overload, it suddenly struck Jacob that here, he had a golden opportunity to right a terrible wrong. When Markos showed up out of the blue two days ago and Jacob decided to go with him, his only regret was that he would miss the premiere of LOST’s new season. But now, in 2054, surely he could order the complete DVD (or the 2054 equivalent) collection of LOST and watch them at his leisure! A quick search of virtua media informed him that the entire show was available for viewing!
Six whole seasons!
Well, the future was certainly looking much better now!
February 15, 2054
Eelai’s blue-hazed form appeared in Jacob’s living room via simmat connection, “Yes?”
Jacob’s face split into a big grin, “I chose a name for my alias!”
“Finally? What is it?”
“Kevin Johnson!” Jacob declared in a fit of geeky joy.
“Ok, noted. Is there anything else?”
Jacob deflated a bit, “You don’t get it?”
“Should I?”
“Do any of you future types actually watch any of the entertainment available while you’re observing and recording the past?”
Eelai sniffed disdainfully, “Should we?”
Jacob’s grin turned wicked as an evil plot to further irritate Eelai hatched in his brain, “You’re my handler right? Part of your job is to make my stay here comfortable, right?”
Eelai’s eyes narrowed and he answered warily, “Yes…”
Jacob continued, “Great! Well, as part of my acclimation, I have been catching up on some of the television shows that were popular from my time, you know, in case someone asks me what I thought of them, I won’t look like an uncultured Philistine. But here’s my problem. My favorite show, LOST requires well, more of a community of fellow watchers to actually appreciate it. Others to discuss the show with and to bounce theories off of.”
“Theories? Regarding a television show?”
“Not just any television show, LOST!” Jacob shook his head, “Look, just look up a tv show from 2004 to 2010 called LOST, and watch it until you know who Kevin Johnson is, then come join me. I need someone to watch this with.”
Jacob gleefully noted that Eelai’s expression indicated that the idea of immersing himself in Twenty-First Century entertainment did not appeal to him.
“Must I?” he sighed.
Jacob nodded, “Trust, you will not regret it.”
