Sitting there in the booth at the sex-porium in Old Orleans in 2084, speaking to a shadow who said that he knew me because his grandfather knew me ... a shadow that was instantly recognizable to me as "Mattie" -- my head was spinning.
I had just had a conversation with someone as if he was a real person and yet, after the shock and surprise had faded, I knew him full well to be a character that I had created for fictional stories that I had written decades ago. As the veil between reality and future-ality continued to tear, I realized that I had just referred to that character as "my closest friend", which was both a sad commentary on a past relatively solitary lifestyle where those voices I heard in my head that spilled forth as those populating my tales took on a life of their own ... and a telling insight about how unexpected time travel was scrambling my brain.
Of course, so far it *was* only a shadow. And my own future self *had* contacted me via a cell phone app to entice me to travel to the future through a portal. Plus it *was* 2084, so anything could have happened technologically in the lifetimes that had passed between my old life and my new existence -- which were apparently happening simultaneously in some other bit of mind-warp that I had just had to accept as fact.
"So -- are you virtual reality?" I queried the shadow.
My brain was starting to hurt ... and I was hoping that a modicum of truth would bring some kind of relief.
The screen began to lift, and light started to spill in to the small space.
Light ... and a hand. Not a virtual hand ... but an actual hand ... an actual hand attached to an actual body -- an actual body which spoke directly to me as he stretched out that hand for a welcoming shake.
"Oh no. I assure you I'm real. Flesh and blood. I'm officially Mattie 3.0, which is why I said you knew my 'grandfather' -- because it took three attempts at me being de-fictionalized before the act was perfected."
"De-fictionalized?"
Mattie 3.0 continued. "That's a thing now. Fictional characters of any kind can be de-fictionalized and created into actual human beings. It was the next level of astral projection with a corporeal element that created the IQ, EQ and SQ files -- a secret project the government was running, but the IntransiGents got a hold of the technology. You'd be surprised when it comes to whom you might run into walking around in our times ..."
And with that, my time taking advantage of the loophole when the VitalNet updates on the last day of the month is coming to a close, and so I must leave you as Ilion in 2084, communicating with you about the future via Troy in 2018's social media account, brought here by t1a7n72.lif, the remnants of my soul in said future. Take care of each other ... until next time ...
