"We've been expecting you."
As far as welcomes go, that which the avatar told me was right up there with the most welcoming of opening lines.
Still, though, it made me wonder *exactly * what the voice meant by its proclamation. After all, it was 2084 ... and I had arrived in Old Orleans only by the power of the time travel via the app in my cell phone. Did it really know that I would be showing up in the manner in which I arrived ... or was it just being polite?
"My grandfather knew you well."
For the first time since I slid into the seat of the sex-porium I suspected that my debriefing to expect to be put in touch with the local faction of the Intransigents was on point.
"You and he drove across the country together. Out of Florida. Through Winston Falls. To Chicago. Many many hours spent side by side, charged, as you both were at that time, with keeping Gator safe."
"Mattie?" I whispered in reply. "Is that really you?"
"Mattie was my grandfather," came the response. "And *his* stories became my history," the shadow in the screen continued.
"Your reputation precedes you!" it said excitedly. "And your ability to transcend time was foretold. It is both my honor and my privilege to meet with you again."
"Me you too," I muttered. After all -- what could I say? My arrival in 2084 was somewhat sudden and unexpected. Yet somehow the representation in front of me knew my lineage ... and he knew that I would one day, generations later, be standing in front of him in Old Orleans.
And so began my interaction with the progeny of my closest friend ... an interaction about which there is much to tell ... but a tale that I can only tell on the last day of the month next, when the VitalNet is updating and I can take advantage of a loophole to contact you via Troy's social media of 2018.
Until that opportunity presents itself, I remain Ilion in 2084, brought to the future via Troy in 2018's social media account ... as hosted by t1a7n72.lif., the remnants of my soul in the future. Stay safe. Be careful. Take care of one another. And keep your eyes open for your loved ones - in the future though it might be.
