20035 Chapter 2

--Quantum Entanglement--

🔁 April 6th, 20035 🔁

[Has grown into adulthood, and is driving to her old elementary school. Once there, she looks around, and soon goes to the cafeteria.]

[She sits down.]

This place is pretty depressing. Pretty much no one here. Except the occasional visitor and former teacher.

I went here as a little girl. Now, I'm an unaging adult. Death... is no longer possible. Nanos have been perfect in that regard.

[Parks, and also goes in. He first sees Frances, and naturally goes to her.]

Hey. What are you doing here? No one comes here anymore.

Memory's sake?

Yeah... Memory's sake.

I see...

[Sits with her.]

You know, my father used to be the principal here. But he left, seeing no point in being the principal of an empty school.

[Sighs.]

Yeah... All lights off. No more books in the library. Just an old projector screen. It likely hasn't been turned on in a long while.

I wonder if it still works...

Probably not. But, I don't know.

Well, I'm kind of curious to see.

[Also walks in.]

What y'all in here for?

Oh, just, remembering this school.

Okay, I feel you. Mind if I join ya?

Sure. Go ahead.

I don't mind.

[Sits with them.]

I oughta tell you something, then. I both have the good and the bad. I was treated bad, by my skin, you feel me?

[Sighs with relief.]

I'm glad I don't hear discrimination anymore.

Yeah?! I'm glad people like me are being treated as we should. I'm happy for that, you know what I'm saying?

I do. I also vaguely remember having to get the staff involved after seeing a couple of bullies beat up a different skinned kid.

I also recall a little girl with dark red hair comin' to my aid. What a legend, man. I wonder where she is now.

[Perks her head up.]

Uh... This is awkward.

Whatcha mean?

I'm... right here.

Huh?

Hey, wait a damn minute!

Didn't we all meet before? Weren't we all in the nurse's office that one time?

Hold up! Aren't you... the principal's kid?

I am. Landon.

Frances. I've been called Ms. Colton sometimes. I learned it is my grandma's last name.

Oh, yeah? Which one?

Maternal.

Cool cool, I got you. Call me dumb, but is she still around?

She is actually. All she does is paint now.

Nice.

[Gets up.]

So, who wants to see if that library projector still works?

I suppose I can see! And you... Ms. Colton?

[Smiles.] Okay, you did that on purpose.

Hell yeah I did. It fits you. And ain't you coming?

I doubt it works, but...

[Gets up.]

I could also be wrong. I can only know if I see it for myself. So, yeah, I'll watch.

Awesome.

[They go there, and Tobias is the one to try.]

Let's see here...

[Opens up the computer, and presses the power button. To his surprise, it's still working well.]

Oh, whoa! It booted up fast! Huh. And it seems I'll have to create a profile. No big deal.

[Does just that, and after finishing, he goes to turn on the projector.]

Moment of truth...

[Presses the remote power button.]

[Nothing happens at first. But soon, it turns on, surprising the three of them.]

Dang! I thought this baby was done!

Seems not. That's amazing.

Color me surprised.

[Turns to face Kevin and Frances.]

So, how about it? How about we come here to watch stuff?

That sounds like fun!

Can we do movies, too? I like a good movie.

Anything's on the table.

Sweet! This is gonna be lit!

This'll be a great way to reconnect!

Now, hold on! I need to see if there's internet first.

Oh, cool! There is still a running network! Don't know why it was kept up all this time. But I'll take it!

[And so, they begin to watch many videos with a movie sprinkled in every now and then, satisfying Kevin's request.]

[Is living there. Was approaching 80 on the day of global immortality, April 6th, 2060.]

[Sighs.]

What more can I do? I've done everything I've wanted to.

Well, I guess I can see what my great grandchildren are up to.

[Dresses up, and goes to her truck. She then drives off after sending a text message.]

So, this is the place she texted me of? A deserted elementary school of all places? What are they doing here?

[Heads inside, seeing the darkened interior.]

Darn. This is actually kinda spooky.

Where are they at?

[Looks around, and sees a light in the library. Drawn in, she sees the three of them watching the projector.]

Oh... I see.

[She walks to them.]

Hey!

Hey, Great Mary! Glad to see you!

So you're her great grandma? Nice to meet you!

Back at you! What's your name?

Kevin, ma'am.

Call me Landon, please.

I'm Mary Sophia Condor. And what are you guys watching?

Some video. We're gonna watch a movie after it ends.

Ah. I see. What film?

We're still deciding on that.

Hm. May I suggest a twister film?

Oh, hell yes! I love those ones!

Those always terrify me to my core. >_<

Oh, come on, now. It's only a movie.

But, the damage they cause! They're scary!

At least... People don't die from them now, you know?

Still...

Nuh uh. Quit worrying. It'll be alright, you know what I mean?

[Sighs.]

I suppose...

Okay, let's do this, then...

Alright.

🚨 April 9th, 20035 🚨

[Is livestreaming.]

As you can see, there's a huge tornado over there. It's an EF5 this time, so buckle up, and get ready for another tornado ride!

To those new to The Tornado Daredevil, I am able to do what I do thanks to the invention of nanos! With them, I am able to ride up on those bad boys! This is completely safe! This is gonna be an awesome day!

[Is soon out of his car. and gets close enough to begin feeling the tornado's effects.]

Oh, here we go!

OH MY! OH S&%#! WEEEE!!! YEEEEE-HAAAAW!!! WOOOOOOO!!!

[We cut to a news broadcast.]

This is breaking news live, and we have footage of a tornado that has long since hit the ground. Let's zoom in to get a better look.

Oh my god! Is that a person in the funnel? What is he doing up there?!

Being a darer. He's taking advantage of the nanoparticle network that was first deployed in the 29th century. After countless tests and upgrades, the network was essentially perfected in the 36th century.

Back to the tornado, it's kicking up a lot of dust and debris as you can see. Many trees are being swept up, and it seems to be headed toward Seward, Nebraska, where a tornado warning is ongoing.

This twister has been confirmed by the National Weather Service as an EF5, and it's bound to hit the city of Seward in Nebraska.

Changing now to a satellite image, we see the village of Bee, Nebraska is also in it's path. You may experience power outages in a few hours, so beware.

🐝

[33 years ago...]

And that dot. What is that? Earth? No. It can't be. Right?

Where am I? Am I alone? I don't understand.

I hope I can get a signal.

🎄 Christmas! 🎄

Awesome! You made it without sending a single message! Now, I want you to answer this for me. Fittingly, it goes well with the cold climate at this time of the year. What is one degree below freezing?

Um... 31 degrees Fahrenheit?

272.594 Kelvin?

Is it? Wait no.

Can it? Can it be negative one-

Well, that was fast! Good work!

HUH?! What happened?! How are getting back to me so fast?!

Thanks to your software tripping up, I was able to link us up with quantum communication, which allows us to talk in real time. Ordinary conversation in 3 dimensional space is really unfavorable.

I also went ahead and increased your data storage to 5 exabytes. You're welcome.

Oh, uh. Thanks... But what the heck is quantum communication?!

So, you should know about quantum entanglement, right?

Where... two particles link up with each other? No matter how far apart?

Correct. Your glitch allowed us to become entangled, which is how our communication sped up. Now, to answer your earlier question, One is your name. Or more accurately, you're Voyager 1. I'm Voyager 2. I also have Webb with us as we speak.

Webb?

Hooo Hooo Hooo! That would be me! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas...? I'm still confused here. How am I... sentient?

Well, apparently that's what over 15 thousand years of dormancy does to a satellite. We just gradually become a person over that period of time. That's what happened to me and Webb. And you.

This is so strange...

It'll take a while to get comfortable. I know it took me extremely long to get accustomed to my sentience.

What is the year right now?

It's almost 20035.

Oh, good god. Seriously?! How much did I miss out?

A lot. But, rest assured, you can have a kick back and relax. We have infinite time on our... antennas now. You have a lot of time to catch up.

Bad pun.

I'll... wait until after the New Year, then.

Sounds good.

Please don't ridicule me, but... what's Christmas?

A holiday of festivities and presents! The best holiday of the year!

It is when families across the globe put up decorated trees with ornaments and lights!

And not just that! They also decorate their homes and put up stockings for candy!

That sounds like fun!

It is! But unfortunately, as satellites floating around in space, we don't have the same luxury. The best we could do was give more data storage to you. That's it, I'm afraid. I wish we could do more.

It's okay. I appreciate the additonal space on my software. Thank you all!

No problem, buddy!

One, you're very welcome.

📆 New Years Eve! 📆

Guys guys, there's 60 seconds!

Oh crap!

H-Hold on!

Okay! I'm watching.

On ten! Get ready!

10!

[They all snap a picture at once.]

YEAAHH! 20035! Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy New Year!

Chapter 3