Been to the year 2200 (for guesswho)

[justmedk]

When she got into the elevator, Deena wasn't prepared for the massive thump that the rapid acceleration would initially inflict on her in the moments before the inertial dampeners kicked in, and she made an involuntary "Oomph!"-grunt as if she'd been punched lightly in the stomach, before she adapted.


She entered the apartment and was again amazed, this time more by the view from the window at the massive city beneath them, indeed looking like something out of one of the sci-fi movies she'd sometimes watched with her dad just to have some time with him. She went over to the window and stared with her mouth open at the scene beneath her.


"This is.....ow!", she exclaimed in response to pinching herself hard to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She'd had a few dreams in the past so realistic that it had taken her the better part of a minute after waking up to realize that they had, in fact, been dreams.
Deena turned around at the sound of his voice and the sound of "rum". She looked at the glass cautiously.

"If my mom and dad saw me now, I'd be grounded for a year", she couldn't help but chuckle, her voice still not quite recovered and her eyes still red, as she bottomed out the glass, swallowing all of its contents in one go, and only afterwards feeling the burning feeling in her stomach.
This wasn't like the beer she and Raquel had snatched from Raquel's father's stock. And the reason for her reluctance to take the glass now, was what had happened at that occasion. Of course Raquel's parents had to choose the worst possible moment to come home.
She had been sent home with the message that they'd be calling her parents, and the last thing she'd heard before leaving the house had been Raquel's father telling his daughter to go get the hairbrush.
Deena had hurried away at that - she had had no desire to listen to what she knew would come next, though she hadn't been able to completely avoid it through the open windows of the living room.
And she herself had been grounded for a month, which had well and truly sucked. But she'd never been spanked like Raquel was, and that was something at least.


Deena winced as the feeling of the alcohold spread through her. It was indeed warmth, but also a burning kind of warmth in a sense that she wasn't quite able to explain.


"So...I...I mean....now what?", she said uncertainly, not quite knowing what to do with herself.

[guesswho]

Only when she says she would be grounded for a year if her parents seen her now Harlan realizes he's going to have to actually be some sort of parent figure from now on. He never had kids, never planned kids and never even liked kids very much. Up until now, he thought he's going to consider having kids once he reaches eighty or ninety and then he'll find some nice girl his age that wants them. There still a lot of time to go...enough to never be bothered by the thought. Ever since aging problem was solved, people kinda stopped having kids, so there isn't even anyone he could ask for advice.

Apparently, some sort of discipline enforcement will be necessary from time to time, and he has a feeling giving Deena any word on how it works would beat the whole purpose of it.

"This is kind of a special occasion, don't you think? Generally though, don't drink. How old are you even? Fifteen? Sixteen?" What now is a pretty good question, he has to admit. He is absolutely not ready to take care of a kid, even if in her late teens.

"Well, I'm pretty tired, but I expect you're going to need some stuff. Gimme a minute." From a heap of clothes on the floor he fished out an old tablet. It's vastly superior to anything from her time, but to him, it's an ancient piece of technology. But it still works and doesn't require an implant. That's another thing he's going to have to get for her. Considering her fear of AI, that might be a problem.

"Order everything you need. Clothes, hygiene, whatever..." He starts it for her and finds a suitable shop in the selection. They should have everything necessary.

"Sorry, not equipped to deal with long term visits. Don't worry about prices." Retail therapy works even these days. Maybe even more than in the past. He passes her the tablet and goes on to put the bottle of rum in its place. Right now, he feels like using the Bliss himself, but it might not be a good idea.

"Order everything and then I'll show you around." He leaves Deena for a few minutes and goes to check out the room he decided will give to her. There's a lot of mess, so he carries out the worst and deploys a smalls robot to clean up the dust. There is everything she should need...hopefully. after a few minutes, he walks out of the room again, leaving the robot to work.

[justmedk]

When she suggested that it was a special occasion, she chuckled, and held up the glass which was now empty


"Got that right!", she said, putting it down again to hear him remember himself and the usual adult "Don't do this, don't do that"-line which he had apparently forgotten in the confusion. She didn't blame him for that. She was plenty confused herself. But when he asked how old she was, she couldn't help but frown a little at first before he mentioned his two suggestions and she instantly felt a little bit better. One was correct, the other was a compliment, and she smiled.


"Fifteen", she said, not even for a moment considering saying "Sixteen"; it just popped right out of her without her even once considering that sixteen might have gotten her more privileges. But what was done, was done.
When he handed her a tablet and told her to get what she needed, Deena stared at it. She had never had that kind of luxury before. Her parents worked hard to provide for all of them, and no one had ever gone to bed hungry in their home, but luxuries like new clothes or things like that were rare and almost always reserved for special occasions. Most of the clothes she and her siblings had were second-hand, and much of their toys had been too.
To be told buy what you need could have meant running amok and getting lots of other things she didn't need, but as the oldest child Deena was a lot more sensible than her siblings would have likely been.

She did, however, manage to get all the hygeine products she needed, before moving on to clothes, getting the basics that she would need, like underwear, shoes, a couple of dresses, sweaters and pants, crop tops, etc. She was almost embarassed, and did try her best to not run wild now that she finally had a chance to get new clothes of her own - completely forgetting for a brief moment that this guy had actually removed her from her life leaving her with nothing. At the moment, she didn't think about any of that, and before she knew what had happened, half an hour had passed and she'd ordered the basics she'd need to start with. There was lots of other stuff that she had wanted, but she'd decided to be sensible and not abuse the trust he'd shown her by giving her carte blanche.

[guesswho]

When he comes back and sees she's done with the shopping, he quickly checks how much money she spent on it and what she ordered. "Pretty tame, shopping wise. Well, you can order some things later on, there's no hurry." She's not going anywhere anytime soon, so that's okay. It looks like she out bought the necessities, definitely didn't go overboard with her choices.

"I'm not going to spoil you, but you certainly didn't make much of a dent in the budget I gave you. And yes, there actually is a maximum amount I would let you spend." Harlan winks at her. Looks like she's coming from not exactly rich background. Could explain her rather humble behavior. He drops on the couch. This is the most tired he has been in at least ten years. Time travel really takes it out of you.

"The stuff will be here by morning. Now... let's take a look at your room. Come on." He gets up again. Shouldn't have sit down at all, if he's going to move around all the time. Harlan walks to her room, by now completely cleaned out by the robot. Only basic furniture left.

"Your room. I hope you like it. You can control most things by voice, including lights and window tint. And music. Mine is right next to you. Knock before you enter and I'll extend you the same courtesy." The bed is wide and looks comfortable, the furniture quite futuristic - for her time. To him, it's just standard. High quality, but nothing glorious. He doesn't spend much.

"If you need anything, let me know. And we're going to need to discuss your access. I expect you're not going to like this." He takes a deep breath. "These days, everyone has a set of implants in their body. They monitor your life functions, deliver medication when needed, but more importantly, let you communicate with electronics. As it is, not even automatic door would open to you right now. You have to use tablet older than you to buy things. That's... Not viable these days." He's willing to give her some time to come to terms with the idea, but he won't wait forever.

[justmedk]

Deena was slightly embarassed, but also pleased that he hadn't found her choices too expensive, but almost the contrary. She could do with something to sleep in too, but she decided to postpone that for a later time.

She followed him towards her room without saying much, and smiled when she saw it. It wasn't much, at all, but it was hers, and hers alone. She didn't have to share it with anyone. She nodded gratefully when he told her to knock if she wanted to get into his room, and he'd do the same. This was a new concept for her
She sat down on the bed, feeling it and smiling as she realized that spartan as this place might be at the moment - except for the decidedly futuristic style of the furniture

Or...well..contemporary, I guess

it was all hers. When she noticed a change in his tone of voice, though she looked up at him, bracing herself for not liking what he was going to tell her.
And indeed, he had been correct. Being told that she'd need a chip implant to do...well...basically anything...was very much not news she wanted to hear. What he said made sense, though, and she was old enough to realize that she wasn't just in Rome now, she was a Roman, and thus would be forced to do as the Romans. She looked at the floor and nodded calmly


"Yeah...I get that", she said. "What's the worst that could happen, fucking Skynet turning me into a zombie or something like that?", she said with an attempt at humor.

[guesswho]

The fears from her primitive age yet again. It's laughable, how they always come to expect the worst from technology they need to survive. He decides to be patient, she's just... it's harsh, but compared to current level of technology, she's a caveman. Her fear is natural, and it certainly took humanity long time to get over it. Once they did, however, it started a golden age of progress.

"Language." He says without anger, or indeed, motivation, simply because he feels it's expected of him. "Never heard of that happening. Ive had the implant for fifteen years, can't say I had any problems. Literally everyone has them. They're usually implanted in the first year of life, so explaining how did you go without one for such a long time is going to be fun."

These days, people don't even think about their implants, it's like clothes, or water or other mundane necessities. He can't even imagine living without it.

"I'll think of something, don't worry. We can go and get it implanted in a day or two. It's simple - they'll put injector to your head, whenever you choose so, and it will shoot the implant directly into your skull. From there, it will extend tiny biological wires that connect with your brain. It takes about five minutes and apart from the entry wound doesn't hurt at all. It's like...you still had mosquitos in your time, right? Something like that." He explains. People tend to be less afraid of things they understand.

"And then the city opens to you. Public places, shopping and all that stuff. You'll be able to communicate with anything capable of receiving just by thinking about it. Neat, right?" It's a pretty good future they live in. Harlan yawns and gets up.

He looks around the room again, but it looks fine, if a bit empty. He's sure that will change soon.

"How do you feel? Back...then it was just afternoon, and since then, maybe two hours passed. If you're not tired I get it, but starting tomorrow, you're going to have a bedtime. Oh and feel free to play with the tablet, I have no use for it." Until she gets an implant of her own, she could get bored.

[justmedk]

Deena instantly looked down a bit when he mildly corrected her language, more as a reflex response than conscious effort. But this fact also showed a bit about how quickly she had imprinted on him in a way that she wasn't conscious of, but which was very, very real nonetheless.


She nodded at his explanation about the procedure, though she honestly still didn't relish the concept. She forced herself to acquiesce, however. Mostly because there was no alternative.


"But...won't that let someone like...you know...hack into your brain, or let the police read your mind or something like that?", she asked genuinely worried, but not defiantly.



When he'd answered her question, she nodded, before he went on to a much more relateable subject, but also a controversial one: Bedtime.
She frowned deeply as he mentioned bedtime and tried to decide whether or not to comment on it. When he gave her the free use of the tablet, however, she nodded and stopped herself from speaking. She could kill two birds with one stone: Still maintain control of when she went to bed, by being on the tablet even if he thought that she'd gone to bed.



"So, what's on this anyway?", she asked. "I doubt that Facebook still exists, and if it does I probably need to learn a bit more before I throw myself at it", she grinned, very much aware of her limitations in the current time period.

"Any cool games?", she asked. "VR, maybe? And how does this thing even work?", she continued, for a moment lost in the wonder of the piece of technology in front of her which seemed almost like magic to her. She knew what a tablet was, of course, but it seemed comparable to the fact that in her time there'd been cars around for over 100 years. That didn't mean that someone who'd driven one of the first cars, would have any idea about how to handle a new Tesla.

[guesswho]

"Oh there were attempts to hack them, of course, but...heh, it turns out that's not how brain works. So if someone for example tries to read your mind, what he's going to get is a headache with a lot of flashing colors. You'll see, or to be precise, feel. It's a completely new level of consciousness." He explains quickly. Harlan can. See his words about bedtime didn't meet with approval, but she's smart enough not to complain. That's good, as that's non negotiable.

"Well, there's not much... that tablet is older than you. But there should still be some apps and games and stuff. Don't go on social networks, if you don't have the implant. It doesn't work well. VR...well, you need the implant for that. You need it for most things these days, you know." The way she acts all of a sudden when he offered her she could take the tablet to bed makes him recall his own childhood and how he would abuse this privilege, until found out. He decides not to say anything and instead give her a chance to decide by herself, whether she wants to risk it.

"It works just like a phone or tablet from your time. That much didn't change. The rest, well...yeah, the rest is different. Anyway. I'm off to bed. See you in the morning. And don't stay up too late. If you need anything, just knock on my door. Good night." He says and gets out of her room. He's asleep the moment he drops in the bed.

[justmedk]

This night, Deena wasn't going to argue very much about bedtime. She was exhausted from the mental and physical exhaustion of time-travel, of having her entire life turned upside down. So she merely wished him good night, and then realized that she'd forgotten something to sleep in. She logged onto the tablet and ordered a set of PJs that looked comfortable, before heading to bed and closing her eyes.
It didn't take many seconds before she fell asleep.


_________________________

Suddenly she found herself back home. It had been very strange dream, going to the future, but she was home after all, and she got out of bed. She didn't remember how she got there, but she suddenly found herself in the kitchen where she could hear conversation from the living room. The voices were clearly and unmistakably those of her parents.


"She's nowhere to be found", her father said.



"Have you looked everywhere?", mom replied, and Dad supposedly nodded.

"Yeah", came his voice. "She's gone"

A brief pause followed, and then they both said in a tone that she recognized - it was the tone she herself used when she was relieved.


"Well, one less mouth to feed", they both said, and then mom said "She was getting on my nerves anyway". Just then the two of them were standing in the kitchen instead of the living room, caught sight of her and looked shocked at first, then started laughing and laughing and laughing, but not the jocular laughter of good spirits. More along the lines of the mocking, disdainful laughter one uses when one doesn't particularly care about an awkward moment one's been caught in.

No matter how much Deena screamed at them to stop, her voice wasn't raised above that of the laughter, and she grew more and more desperate.

___________________________________________

And then she sat up in bed and screamed, before plopping back down on her back, panting heavily as she tried to regain composure for a moment before she started crying and curled up in the fetal position.

[guesswho]

His sleep doesn't last long, before it's interrupted by a scream from the other room. "What the fuck..." He jumps out of bed, falls on his nose due to legs being all tied up with the covers, gets up, grabs a first thing he could use as a weapon and runs out of the room. His first thought is they figured out what happened, in which case he'd die fighting. No Venus for him. The scream was definitely Deena, so he doesn't bother with knocking and barges in. But instead of Intruders he expected, the girl is just curled up on the bed. He puts the weapon down - it's a just a lamp in any case, but rather heavy and walks to her bed.

"What happened? A bad dream?" He asks, smiling, and only now realizes he tastes blood in his mouth. The fall caused a nosebleed. Well, shit. Best way to relieve a nightmare, to barge in, all bloody.

"Come on, get outta bed. Let's have a cup of tea." Cup of tea is a known weapon against all kinds of nightmares. They somehow just don't stand a chance against the hot liquid.