"Let me guess. Another virtual reality sex-porium experience?"
I was being cagey in my reply to the old man who had emerged from the shadows on Bourbon-not-Bourbon Street in Old Orleans -- just as I had been instructed to do by my IntransiGent handlers, and as I had just recently been reminded to do by Mattie 3.0, in order to not blow my cover. His unsolicited offer to take me to the original New Orleans, which I knew to be under water in what was now the Bay of Mississippi, was unexpected and felt like a potential trap.
Before he answered, he took a drag on his cigarette, blowing the smoke up into the darkness of the night just outside the cone of light originating from the balcony above us. Then he spoke.
"I've always been more a fan of *actual* reality -- in AND out of the bedroom. These kids nowadays have been so desensitized by the extremes they've fake-experienced that they can't even appreciate what's right in front of them."
It was good to see that grumpy old men, as a distinct species, survived -- and thrived -- well into the future.
He looked me up and down at least three times before he continued.
"Your eyes aren't dead yet. That's why I made you the offer."
I made a mental note. In addition to all the other things I already knew that might make me stand out as a time traveler to 2084 -- the missing sixth texting finger that had evolved for the later generations, my lack of Population Control Board papers, my tendency to say the wrong name of the town in which I was now located -- I had to add not having "dead eyes" to the list.
The old man had one last surprise to offer.
"I'm a recruiter," he said quietly, almost under his breath, "and I see something in you".
I found that to be the most intriguing thing I had heard from him, but I was too fearful to take him up on any offer.
Of course, I'll have to tell you more in the next missive, as the size of the file I can send during this monthly Vitalnet update that allows me to communicate with you this way is limited. I have to continue to stay under the radar, so no one discovers that I am Ilion, the name I took on when I arrived in 2084, using Troy-in-2018's social media account to communicate with you. Just know that there will indeed be more to share.
