Work Text:
An alarm is missed but there’s nothing to do about it. If I sleep for another century they won’t ask. But I’m roused awake by my mother, who is holding something that shines in the light.
She shouldn’t be here. Her and my dad went off to Europe a few 1000 years ago- wait or was it earlier than that?
It’s beside the point. She’s here, and I’m still rotting in my room. It’s not like I’m going to die. Heaven forbid I tried. So I stand and watch her smile widen.
“You know, I’ve been trying to wake you up for about 85 years. Every morning, I step in to try and help you up, but you never seem to have enough energy. I guess all my hard work paid off.”
She shows off the item in her hand. It was a souvenir from Germany, she said. A tiny snow globe; I loved finding these, having my own collection without the need of money. What’s the point of money if we’re all not gonna die anyways?
We eat breakfast at the local diner. The lady serving us was about 70-80 when April 7th hit, and seeing her so lively again placed a smile on my face.
The place was old, even before my parents got here in the U.S. But it was still here, though the diner did get some new changes too.
Taking a boat back home, I look down at the remains of New York City. Our house was nearby, sitting alone on an island, or what remained of Staten Island.
My house, the diner, and a few other places were scattered throughout, separated by the everlasting sea.
Climate change fucked us over, and so did AI. I will never forgive the ones in charge, who ruined all I knew because they didn’t want to admit that the world was dying.
But the world is better now. Governments fell, the people rose up, and anyone can become president now. My dad was actually president for a bit. All he did was make it mandatory that nobody could date me.
Still, even with immortality, my dad still wanted me to focus on school. I did go to college. Then another. Again and again. I have degrees in economics, astronomy, chemistry, astrophysics, history, and more.
Then I stopped because what was the point?
So I went back to my house and slept.
Today was special, but it happens every year. My mom doing this wasn’t special. She didn’t do it every year. But why now?
I never will ask her though. She’s happier, and I don’t want to ruin that. As we talk, I finally get to see how Europe has changed her. She talks about my father’s reunion with his family in Italy, the beautiful sights of France, and when she found the gift in Germany.
My mom leaves after a while. She’s staying with my aunts in Canada, and I bid her goodbye before going on my laptop. I promised to check on these guys soon, and I couldn’t let the other NASA scientists down. Hopefully they still remember me, after all this time.
INPUT//: {NAME}
{REDACTED} is that correct????
(YES)// INPUT^valid
JUICE: and thats how i was banned from twitter
{REDACTED}: WTF Juice I just got here…
JUICE: sry dude i was telling ten and nine smth
TEN: Get out while you still can.
NINE: I thought it was pretty interesting
TEN: Please no. Nine you’re better than this.
{REDACTED}: So how's the situation going, ignoring all that…
TEN: Besides whatever Juice said, we’re doing pretty well.
NINE: Sorry if my mind’s hazy, but which one are you???
{REDACTED}: Oh yeh, keep forgetting there’s like 15 of us… I’m the one with glasses…
JUICE: u do know half of u have glasses
TEN: Juice don’t be rude!
JUICE: lol i got the surprise thingie
TEN: It’s an exclamation mark, Juice.
NINE: We’re getting off track here
{REDACTED}: I’m the one who lives on the island…
JUICE: hawaiiiiiiiiiii
{REDACTED}: No… The one near NYC…
TEN: Long Island, you mean?
{REDACTED}: Staten Island…
NINE: Oh yeah, you’re the one who showed us the Transformers comics!!!!
JUICE: YOOOOOO ITS THE FUNKY MUSIC GUY yeahhh i loved ur playlist sm
TEN: You knew an awful lot about Godzilla.
{REDACTED}: Yeah… Are those the only things you guys know me as…
JUICE: yeah
HUBBLE: Ohhhhh hey there it’s the one who thought i didn’t exist.
{REDACTED}: I DIDN’T KNOW YOU BACK THEN!… You all got me embarrassed for forgetting… Again…
TEN: Sorry about us. How is your day?
JUICE: can i say it tennie
TEN: No.
{REDACTED}: Say what???…
NINE: Since today’s very important to a lot of people, we’ve prepared something very special!
Outside, a booming sound could be heard. I go out of my house to check on the commotion, only to see an assortment of colors up in the sky. I sit down and watch the fireworks as I check the chat logs.
JUICE: HAPPY DAY OF BEING BIRTHED HAPPY DAY TO YOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!
TEN: JUICE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT AFTER THE FIREWORKS!
{REDACTED}: oh…
NINE: Yeah the fireworks were my idea
JUICE: i wanted to send a whole swarm of locusts for da lols
TEN: I had to stop him before he got some other people on board. It was horrific, to say the least.
{REDACTED}: Thank you… For everything…
NINE: Happy birthday, {REDACTED}