Into the future - Anna's adventure (for Renton)

[justmedk]

Anna listened intensely as the "robot", for as such she couldn't help but think of Percy, spoke. The lack of horrible, laid-out details of World War III did indeed make it more bearable to listen to. "World War III is coming!" had been a meme for almost as long as she could remember back, especially after recent, well, recent from her perspective, events.

So, it actually happened, she thought, and was a bit surprised that the thought didn't seem to bother her as much as it should.
And apparently good had come of it too: Finally unification had occured. So much of science fiction that she had read and watched had talked about it, but this, not transporters or starships, or aliens, had been what she had found most unrealistic. And now it was happening. No: Had happened. She couldn't help but smile at that, and she just became more exited when Percy told her that it was possible to travel around the world with the same kind of effort that she might have used to travel to the other side of the country back in "her day".

"There's so much I wanna see!", she couldn't held exclaim with exitement. "I have never seen the Pyramids, or the Great Wall, or the Grand Canyon, or the permafrost of Greenland!", she went on, her despair at her absurd situation for the moment repelled by the mind-boggling possibilities of the world she found herself in.

"So....uhm....I was thinking", she said with a little bit of a blush on her face. She did feel silly doing this, but having Edward around her had been something she'd "dreamt", as in wanted, not actually dreamt.....often, about. "I....If you can...you know...look like anything...can you...I mean....how about Edward? You know....from Twilight?"

Anna hadn't noticed that Angel had returned and stood in the door. She was too focused on the information she'd been given, and the possibility that she might have Edward waiting on her soon!

[Renton]

"I can do a close approximation," Percy said, transforming immediately from his butler appearance to that of Robert Pattinson as a vampire. "Indeed, the copyright on Twilight expired many centuries ago, so this character is available."

"Who are you now?" Angel said, raising an eyebrow as she walked into the room.

"No one you would recognize, unless you studied ancient Western literature in college," Percy said.

"Astrophysics," Angel said, stating the obvious. "I'm guessing someone from a film you like," Angel said, shaking her head in amusement. "I thought you might like some tea and biscuits," she said, bringing the tray over to her on the bed. "And Percy..."

"Edward, Miss Ocampo," Percy said.

"Oh god, I should have programmed you with a hell of a lot less independence. He just doesn't stop with the wisecracks."

"Miss Anna was curious about the places she can visit," Percy said.

Angel nodded. "Well there's plenty to see," she said. "Many schools offer summer camp programs where they spend a week in a different country, covering all the continents. I went on one of those. Nova Atlantis was my favorite."

"Nova Atlantis is a large man made island built off the coast of California in the United States," Percy said, knowing Anna would know nothing about the island.

"Right, sorry," Angel said. "It's been around for 100 years, so I've always known about it. It's really beautiful there. They wanted it to be the cultural melting pot for the USE. I mean... I can take you, once I get clearance for you. Obviously that might take some maneuvering, but I don't think you're going to be sequestered here. You deserve to go out and about."

[justmedk]

When she saw Percy change from his random butler-style appearance, into Edward, she couldn't help but let out a squee not quite unlike that of boyband-fans. She had spent so many hours in the company of Edward, Bella, and the others, as she read the saga, and even before she saw the movie on scree, she had known how the characters had looked. The casters had done their jobs perfectly, and especially Edward had been spot-on.
The fact that the actor had hated the character, was something Anna was unaware of, and would have been quite salty about if she had known it. Right now, Edward was perfection. He was a piece of home, of when she had been comfortable and happy: Reading an epic story. She had always loved stories, ever since she was a little girl.

And this was when she noticed Angel, when the adult asked Percy who he was portraying.

"He....he's a character from...from some books I like", she said almost embarrassed. "I...I mean....I just wanted to see if he could....he doesn't have to be", she finished, the last part of that sentence almost inaudible as Angel explained about schools and their study trip programs.

That's when another thing struck her: If she was going to stay here, at least until they could send her back, she'd probably be forced to go to school at some point. And then what? She'd be exposed for sure. This realization sprung to the forefront of Anna's mind. She didn't hear any of what Angel said towards the end, as her face became one of shocked surprise; the face of someone who just had an "Aha!"-experience: A sudden drop of the penny.

"I....school", she began. "I....I mean....how long is it before you...I mean...before you can send me home? I...I mean...you're cool and all", she said with a slight blush, "but....I wanna go back home", she finished looking up at Angel with a hopeful expression. She had, as of yet, no idea that the one project that maybe could have gotten her home, had been shut down as a safety hazard.

[Renton]

Angel froze when Anna asked her when she might go home. Angel had not yet given up hope of achieving that goal, but right now it wasn't looking like it would happen any time soon; the very project that likely landed Anna here was shut down, and getting something going again simply to return Anna would likely take quite a bit of time, if it could get approved at all. The President might simply deem those experiments too dangerous for the time being.

Angel had no idea how to tell Anna this.

"I wish I could tell you, Anna," Angel said. "But everyone is sort of at a loss for how you got here, and it's going to take some time to figure that out, never mind getting you home."

Angel felt torn between giving Anna false hope and unnecessarily filling her with despair. She did her best to walk the line. "Anna, you're likely going to be here for a little while, but I will do everything in my power to get you back home, all right? That will become my full-time job if it must. Your needs are mine, as long as you're here with me."

"I have the full Twilight movie series, as well as the mid 22nd century remakes ready to air if you want to watch them," Percy said, trying to inject some levity in the mood.

"What do you say?" Angel asked. "No matter what, we're in this house for the rest of the day. The government will want you to stay here, and I'm not about to leave you alone. So we should make the best of today at least, and Percy has more movies where those came from."

A bit of distraction might, at least, tide Anna through this day, but Angel didn't know how long.

[justmedk]

Anna was very attentive to body language. Living in a household with two parents who were constantly stressed out over their insane working hours, would do that to someone. So when she saw Angel tense up, she immediately knew that something was not right. She had no idea the depth of despair she was going to find herself in further down the line, however, when she would realize that she could never go home, but for now she hadn't even thought that she would be stuck permanently.
And though she of course did want to go home, part of her was also exited to have been to the future.....though some of it had apparently been very bad indeed.
She nodded calmly as Angel told her that it might be a while. She didn't dream of thinking she'd be permanently stuck. And she thought that Angel seemed trustworthy when she said that she'd do everything to get her back home. Anna smiled and nodded, even blushing a little as Angel said that Anna's needs were also hers.

"Hey, before I eventually go back, it could be awesome if I could have a look at...you know....lottery numbers and sports results and stuff?", she said, not actually kidding. This cliché was, in her mind, the best way to set herself up for zero financial trouble when she went back.

Anna couldn't remember the last time someone had paid her this much attention, or taken this kind of care of her. And she didn't quite know what to do with herself. So it was probably for the best that the subject changed to one she DID know and love: Twilight. She giggled and nodded when Percy suggested a movie. She thought for a moment when Angel had presented the situation, and then said:

"Well, I've seen the original, but I kinda wanna see the remake, you know?", she said with a smile, "I mean...no one can replace Robert Pattinson", she said with a little blush, "but....it'd be cool to see what you guys did with it", Anna finished, then looked around her, slightly confused as she went into what she thought would be the living room.

"But...I....I don't see a TV?", she said with confusion in her voice.

[Renton]

Angel listened to Anna's request and gently shook her head. "I'm going to guess you won't get clearance for that sort of thing, for bringing back to your time at least. But I can check for you," Angel said. She wasn't yet letting herself consider yet that Anna was stuck here permanently, and until that was decided for certain she wasn't going to let there be any risk of space and time being permanently altered.

"Teevee?" Angel asked, confused.

"A physical monitor from her time that used electrically charged crystals or gasses to depict an image, usually an entertainment program" Percy said.

"Oh, so like a cinema projector?" Angel asked Anna.

"I've got you," Percy said, as Angel looked at him confused. "Got her?" she asked.

"Slang," Percy said, as he projected a crystal clear, high-definition version of the first Twilight film on the living room wall.

"I got the home cinema model of Percy," Angel said. "All right, I suppose we're watching a film tonight then. What do you like for snacks? I'm fond of chicharon myself," she said, grabbing a bag of the salty, deep fried pork skins that are the snack of choice in the Philippines."But if there's something you like that I don't have, Percy can have it delivered within a few minutes."

[justmedk]

Anna looked slightly confused at Angel when she said that Percy was a home cinema, but she had seen Madagasgar, and "Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave" had become her go-to phrase when there was something she didn't get, but didn't care enough about to go into deeper. She was tired, to say the least. It had been a long and exhausting day, emotionally, not physically, and kicking back with a movie seemed like the perfect idea.

When she was asked about snacks, Anna looked intrigued at Angel's mention, and asked what it was. When she was told, her eyes lit up. Though it was under a different name, she knew the things very well, and loved them. She nodded eagerly.

"That sounds great!" she smiled, and then looked sat down on the couch. She was amazed at the quality of the image.

"Wow!", she exclaimed. "I mean....we had good quality too, but this...this is like...I don't know....almost like being there!", she said as the movie got started. She instantly loved the actress playing Bella, though she thought she looked a little bit young for the part.

"Bella's 17 though", she said, "This girl looks...I don't know...15? Anyway, they did ALMOST as good a job on Edward as we did", she grinned and sat back to watch the story.

There were many references she wasn't familiar with. References to "the war in Europe", "the sinking of Holland", and the like, having been woven into the story as plots set in motion by the Volturi7. But the basic story was, of course, the same.

"By the way", Anna said casually about half an hour into the movie. "I...I'm sorry about earlier.", she referred to the way she'd stormed off. "It's just that....", she gulped, forcing back tears she could feel starting to well up, "It's just that I had...I hadn't thought of...like...every year for my birthday, my mom makes scrambled eggs for me.", she said, almost mechanically in order to avoid another round of crying, trying to force her emotions on the subject in the background long enough for her to finish her explanation, and then get back to the movie.

"So...like...I know I like scrambed eggs, but I...I hadn't thought of...of how it would make me think of....you know...", she said, and then, meaning to indicate that the matter was settled, changed the topic at the drop of a hat:

"Anyway, they really did a good job casting Edward", she said with more cheeriness than she felt at the moment.

[Renton]

Although Angel knew that Anna came from a time where not everyone had a home theatre, she was still tickled at how astonished Anna was at the quality of the film. "Wait until I show you something in full VR," she said. VR movies were popularized in the last 50 years, so there weren't any Twilight ports yet, but word was the film studios were working on their backlogs.

The movie was enjoyable enough, although clearly made for audience's Anna's age more than Angel's. Angel was able to remember being a teenager enough to appreciate that this would have once been her favorite film, had she seen it at that age. Angel didn't see many films growing up; she took to them as an adult, and watched as many as she could to make up for lost time.

"You needn't apologize, sweetheart," Angel said, patting Anna on her knee. "You have every right to your feelings and expressing them is healthy."

When the movie ended, Angel looked outside and saw that it was dark. "Well, we've passed most of the day. How about some takeout for dinner?"

She turned to Percy, who had assumed the form of Robert Pattinson again. "Percy, any recommendations for delivery?"

"There is a pizzeria in the states, Boston to be specific, that is rated very highly at the moment. And they offer international delivery."

"I'll take it," Angel said. "What about you, Anna? Want anything specific?"

"The only limit is if they are open, so perhaps avoid anything too far East, where it is already late night," Percy added. "Locations in Western Europe, North Africa, and Eastern North America are buzzing, however, so you've plenty of options."

[justmedk]

Anna stared at Angel when she talked about ordering from Boston, North Africa, and Western Europe.

"F....for real?", she said incredulously. "How....I mean....I get....I get the hyperloop-thing, but...I mean...even that can't bring a pizza from Boston in time?", she said, her eyes full of a mix of hopeful disbelief, wonder, and scepticism. But when she discovered that Angel was entirely serious, she thought for a moment before saying

"Well, I mean....I've never had American pizza before, I guess?", she said, "so...that place in...in Boston sounds cool!", she said, knowing, of course, that it was in fact NOT Robert Pattinson standing in front of her, taking her orders for pizza. But he looked and sounded just like him. It was awesomely cool in a way, and frighteningly disturbing in another.

She looked around the house, then went to one of the windows and looked out of it too. In her time, you couldn't see central Copenhagen from Gentofte - the city core was too far away, and Gentofte was more comparable to a wealthy suburb more than anything else. But 300 years had changed a lot. The impossibly tall skyscrapers of downtown could most likely be seen from most of the main island of Zealand, she thought.

"Things are....so different....", she said mostly to herself, and then looked at Angel.

"I mean...I want to go home", she said, "But....but I'm also curious...you know....about this place... I don't know if...I mean...can we.....can we see more of it at some point? Like....like Tivoli, for instance? I'm sure that they have come up with some awesome stuff in the last 300 years", she smiled with a smile that made her seem a bit younger than she was. This was the child coming up in her now that she found herself in a position where trying to be "the grown woman who had everything under control" was obviously absurd.

[Renton]

"Pizza it is," Angel said, trying not to smile at how enthusiastic Anna was about technology that she, Angel, took for granted. There was something sweet about it; it seemed to unlock a side of Anna, the side that was still a young girl, able to be astonished and find wonderment in this world, despite all that had happened to her.

"So long as you're here, I'll take you where you want to go," Angel said. "I need to get clearance, but that shouldn't be a problem. They let me take you to my home, after all; you're not going to be quarantined now that you've had your shots."

"Your dinner has arrived," Percy said. Angel went to open the door, and a drone hovered overhead, releasing their pizza into her arms. "Thank you!" Angel said as the drone sped off into the night, no doubt back to the hyperloop terminal.

"That was fast," Angel said, opening the pepperoni pizza. "It's still piping hot! I'll give it a minute to cool off. Want something to drink? Percy can make pretty much anything."

"She's not lying," Percy said, and a hatch opened on the kitchen wall revealing a fountain with taps for regular water (both hot and cold), sparkling water, and a screen full of buttons for an assortment of sodas and iced teas.

"I can also make alcoholic beverages but Angel doesn't drink those," Percy said, with a note of bitterness.

"He's an artificial intelligence and he makes fun of me for not drinking," Angel said, pushing buttons to make a lemon-lime soda. "You can't even drink water, never mind booze."

"I would if I could," Percy said, wistfully. Angel wasn't sure if he was joking.

"So, Tivoli... I've heard the name, and I'm certain it's still going strong. But I admit I'm fairly new to Denmark and don't know much about it. What are you looking forward to seeing?"

Of course, three centuries might very well have transformed the park, but Angel wanted to give Anna the chance to talk about something that Angel didn't know about. And, hopefully, the park was not unrecognizable now.