2101

“2101”

Ace St. Jean

New Year’s Eve " 2100

Four generations were standing in my bedroom. They were all looking at me. I could see myself because the youngest of the Aces was holding a mirror. That mirror allowed for my wrinkled face to be seen. It looked tired, degraded, annoyed, and confused all simultaneously. I looked away, for my obsessive thoughts began to pick up and attack it.

     The youngest Ace, Ace IV, lowered the mirror down. “Sorry great grandpa,” he said, “I thought you would like to see yourself for a final time.”

     “Don’t worry, Ace,” I said. “I would assume the same if I was in your position.”

     My son, Ace Junior, came up to my side and took my hand. “Father, is there anything you want me to do before 2101 arrives?”

     I smiled with my aged muscles. I lifted myself up with different but equally aged muscles so I could clearly see my son. “I want you to burn everything.”

     “Father!?” cried Ace Junior.

     “I don’t mean my stuff. I mean my writing. My short stories, my incomplete manuscripts, my drawings, and sketches of all the Occeannya Stuff. I want it burned.”

     “Even your pictures of your favorite characters, Father? What about Aurora? She was your favorite character and you simply want her gone!?”

     “Ace, I want all my writings destroyed. I want everything related to them gone as well. I want my computer’s hard drive destroyed with them. I don’t want anyone to lay claim and publish the work that I never got to finish, edit, or even remember existed. Aurora will live on in my prose, remember that."

     My son nodded his head before he returned to his standing spot. Now my grandson, Ace III, approached me with a smile.

     “Ace,” I said, “I want you to take my house and everything inside and turn it upside down. I want everything sold by next week. I want the money to be split among the three of you.”

     My grandson nodded his head. He returned to his place. I smiled and motioned him again. “Ace, I want you to find out if Maia is still alive. If she’s still living then I want you to send her a little care package to show my appreciation for her kindness back in 2017. And if she’s dead, then you don’t need to do anything, for I will find out before you.”

     Ace III stepped back, only slower this time. I nodded my head indicating that I was done speaking with him and that he could return to his place.

     My great grandson approached me. He was smiling. He was begging to tell me something, but he was nervous. I felt his shaky hand that was dripping with sweat.

     “Ace, how old are you?” I asked.

     “I’m fourteen, great grandpa.”

     “I met a girl when I was fourteen. I liked her a lot. In fact, I liked her so much I fantasized about a future with her. Of course, there were other fantasies, but I’m sure your young mind can understand that.”

     Ace stared at me and I felt his hands calm down as I continued speaking.

     “Go on, great grandpa, I’m listening.”

     “That girl turned out to be evil. Extremely evil. So evil that I couldn’t shake her from my head. But I must ask myself: what made her evil? Oh, but it was very simple, it was the crime that she already had a boyfriend. She liked me; I cannot lie about that, but she was loyal and caring towards her partner, and I had a difficult time accepting that. I want you to accept that when it happens, for it’s guaranteed just like death to all of us.”

     “I won’t great grandpa. I’ll accept someone’s commitment. I can assure you of-” said Ace IV.

     “I’m serious,” I said interrupting my great grandson. “Otherwise your grandfather is going to reprimand you, and he’ll order your father to take away your VR or whatever s**t you do these days.”

     “Dad!” shouted Ace Junior.

     “What?” I shouted in return. “This is my celebration and my bedroom I can say whatever words I want.”

     “It’s not that, Father,” he said. “His VR and other entertainment are implanted in his brain. I can’t take them away.”

     I smiled and turned back towards my great grandson. “In that case, I’ll have him pay for a neurosurgeon to take those implants out. And he'll do it without anesthetic like in Occeannya."

     “Father, it’s eleven fifty-nine,” said Ace Junior with a quick voice, for his motive was clearly to veer me off my track of speaking violence.

I smiled and looked at all the Aces once again. “Farewell, gentlemen,” I said. “I’ll finally reach the 8^th Rank and find out what exactly lies beyond.”

     I reached for a small bottle of pills on my nightstand. I took a pill out and laid it on my hand. I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed it without water.

     “Gentlemen,” I said, “now leave me alone, return to the party downstairs. You’ll return and you’ll find my body, but in the meantime: happy New Year and good luck in the 22^nd century."