Divorce and Future - Passed

"You're shitting me?" I said. "There is no way I'm voting for Barack Obama again. First he neutered the Camaro when he bailed out GM. Then he neutered everyone else."

"Who the hell is Barack Obama?" she asked. "I'm talking about the president, Sasha Obama."

"Holy shit," I said. "His kid grew up to become President too. Didn't he do enough damage?"

"Tina, I love you honey but I can't drive forty. Even Sammy Hagar has trouble driving fifty five, but forty...I may as well get out and walk.

Eventually, we got to Sarah's building. We parked nearby and Tina held up her hand. Her hand started to glow and she pointed her finger at the windshield. The projection on the windshield showed what was going on inside of the building. When she found her mother's apartment she zoomed in and I saw Sarah sitting there on her sofa. She appeared to be reading a book. Tina moved to another room and we saw her half brother asleep in his crib.

"He looks so innocent, doesn't he?" she asked. "It's hard to believe what he's going to do to us."

"What?" I asked.

"We'll talk about this later Daddy," she said. Then she switched rooms and saw herself. She was sleeping in her room, holding tightly onto a teddy bear. As she watched herself she turned to me.

"You still have it don't you?" she asked.

"What?" I asked again.

"Mom always talked about you," she said. "Even, after you stopped visiting. She always told me that there were three things that always made you smile. Seeing me, seeing your Mustang, whichever one it was, and seeing her. She told me that she knew your marriage was over when you stopped smiling when you saw her. She was sure that it meant that you didn't love her anymore."

I let my head drop. "You still love her don't you, Daddy?" she asked. "Even now that you're starting to date other women, you still love Mom."

She scanned back to the living room where Sarah had her feet folded under herself while she read her book. Tina zoomed in again and I felt even sadder. Sarah was actually looking at a photo album. I recognized t from the cover. It was a bunch of pictures we'd taken when there were only the two of us, before we even had the kids. I wondered why the hell she'd want to waste her time looking at picture of the two of us together.

As if she could read my thoughts, Tina answered my question. "Because she always told me that it was the best time in her life," she said. "She never had to share you with anyone else, not even Jakey and me."

"Honey, this is kind of depressing for me," I said. "Can we move on?"

"Sure Daddy, I've seen what I needed to see anyway," she said.

We pulled away from the building and I found a secluded spot in the woods away from people.

Tina held her hand up and I stopped her.

"Honey, does that hurt?" I asked. She looked at me strangely and smiled.

"Of course not, Daddy," she said. "Everyone has all kinds of implants. Some are cosmetic, some are functional."

She grabbed her soda and pointed her hand at the windshield. "How's that Daddy?" she said. "That's my baby. The family tradition lives on, right?"

"What the hell is that thing?" I asked. She panned around the object.

"It's some kind of car isn't it?" I asked. "The wheels are so tiny. God damn it, the whole thing is tiny. Please don't tell me that my daughter drives a Toyota." I looked at her as if I was ashamed of her.

"Daddy," she spat angrily. "I just showed you what you wanted to see. She scanned around to the front of the car and there emblazoned on where the grill would be if the car had one was a horse. It didn't appear to be running."

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," I screamed.

"Yep Daddy," she said. "That's my brand new GMFC Mustang. It's a Shelby."

The car looked like a smart car with a Mustang sticker on the front. "Kill me now," I said. "Just take a gun to my forehead and shoot me now. Who is GMFC and why are they making Mustangs?"

"GMFC is General Motors Ford Chrysler, Daddy," she said. "Back in 2020 they got tired of all of the competition with the other car companies. They all just merged and ran everyone else out of the business. They're the only car company around now, except for the boutique manufacturers."

"Shoot me now," I said.

"Okay Daddy," she said. "What else do you need to see before I start with my presentation?"

"Show me what the cities look like," I said. I watched what looked like a scene from a shopping mall.

"Tina, show me something exciting like a major city, not a shopping mall," I said.

"Daddy, that's New York City during rush hour," she said.

"But why does it look like a mall?" I asked.

"We built domes over all of the cities over twenty years ago," she replied.

"Where are all of the cars," I asked.

"Daddy, very few people actually need cars anymore. Public transit is faster cleaner and more efficient," she said, sounding like a campaign ad for mass transit.

"What about personal freedom and the pioneer spirit that built this country?" I said.

"Well you're free to do anything you want that there isn't a law against," she said. "And you're free to explore the entire world via the transit tubes. At least during my time you can."

"Where are all of the different kinds of people?" I asked. "What about differences."

She looked at me like I was insane. "Daddy, what are you talking about?"

"Tina, where are the fat people, where are the black people, where are the old people? Every God damned person in that crowd looks the same."

"Daddy wait, I'll explain it to you," she said.

"How come no one is short?" I asked. "Who the fuck do they bully in school?"

"Daddy, no one is bullied," she said. "Bullying is a felony. Anyway, back when you were a kid society looked at it as being odd or wrong to marry a person of a different race or faith, remember?" she asked.

"By the time I was born though, it wasn't big news anymore, it became normal. By the time I was in my teens it was fashionable to be in a mixed relationship. Over the next twenty or thirty years there were so many mixed marriages, that at least here in America, everyone has black or Hispanic or Asian relatives. After a while, all of the racial characteristics just blended in. So there are no more dark skinned blacks. There are no Asians with almond eyes anymore. We all kind of look the same. Then, of course, doctors do DNA mapping during pregnancy so children who would be born shorter than optimal or taller are fixed before they're born. Everyone is also given a metabolic implant in their preteen years that stabilizes their metabolism."

"It analyzes their weight and gives them an appetite suppressant if they're in danger of becoming fat or makes them hungry if they're below their optimum weight. Realistically, the only differences between people now are hair coloring and since that can be dyed on a whim...Well it's like you said everyone with the exception of the older people, all kind of looks the same."

"I guess that's why most of the big stars and super models all want to marry older people. There are so many variations between them and variety is the spice of life Daddy."

"Oh, they also banned alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and all stimulants as well as all sweeteners," she said taking a healthy swig of her Pepsi. "This is so good. I can't believe it's still legal."

"Shoot me now," I said. "I really don't want to be alive in your time."

She moved to a different scene. It showed a large house on the outskirts of town. An older man who was still in very good shape slowly jogged around the perimeter of the property. At certain intervals he passed armed guards who all nodded politely to him and then shook their heads when he passed.

"Who's that Tina?" I asked. "Why does it look like his house is sequestered away from the rest of the city?"

"Because it is Daddy," she said. "He has enough money and enough power to just say Fuck you, to the rules and the laws. He does what he wants when he wants."

As we watched, he finished his run and a couple of young beautiful model types threw themselves at him. They seemed to be arguing over who he spoke to and who he wanted to spend time with.

"Okay, I want to be him," I said. As I watched, I noticed that he seemed to have everything anyone could wish for but he wasn't happy. The two women did everything they could to get him to notice them but he barely paid them any attention.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that he was depressed," I said.

"Very good Daddy," she said.

"I don't get it," I said. "What the hell is he depressed about?"

"He did the dumbest thing in the world and lost everything?" she said.

"Let me guess," I said. "Some dumb assed merger fell through and now instead of five billion he's only worth four. Fuck him, he's a moron."

Tina burst out laughing and actually touched my shoulder the way she does now as a child.

"We'll come back to him Daddy," she said.

As I looked, the screen changed again and I saw a grave site. She pointed at a headstone and I saw the name on it. Seeing the name on the marker pissed me off.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked. The name on the marker was Jake Reed Jr.

"Did I have another child somewhere down the line?" I asked.

"No, Daddy," she said.

"So you're telling me that Sarah's kid is buried with my fucking name?" I hissed. "I'm sorry Tina. I love you more than I'll ever be able to show but I hate that fucking bastard of hers."

"Why Daddy?" she asked.

"Because every time I hear about him or see him it's like a slap in my God damned face. And he's a reminder of what his father stole from me."

"What did his father steal from you?" she asked.

"My wife, my marriage; he just stole everything," I snapped.

"Think about that too Daddy," she said.

"Should I be keeping a list of everything we're going to get back to and everything I'm supposed to be thinking about?" I asked.

"If you want," she said. Even as she said it, the screen changed and it showed another grave site. As she zoomed in on the headstone, I had a totally different reaction this time.

Even in my time we'd been divorced for over a year. I don't know why I started crying when I saw Sarah's name on a headstone. I cried even worse when I saw the inscription and I looked angrily at Tina.

She held up her hands. "She made me promise," she said. The inscription read "Sarah Reed."

The second line said, "Finally a good wife." The last line read, "An embarrassment no more."

"That was the way she felt for her entire life after the two of you broke up," said Tina. "And Daddy, you did this to her."

"Don't blame me, young lady," I snapped. "Your mother's actions are responsible for what happened to us, not me."

Tina started laughing again. She waved her hand and then showed me a different grave site.

"What the hell are we playing Tina, name that grave?" I asked. I looked at the headstone anyway. It was Kenard Davenport, Sarah's boss and the bastard who got her pregnant. I smiled.

"What happened to that bastard?" I asked. "Why does his grave look so old?"

"He just disappeared," said Tina. "A lot of people think that Jakey had something to do with it. But he didn't. Davenport actually died after Jakey did but before him, really."

"Tina that makes no fucking sense," I said. "How could he have died after Jakey but before him?"

She started to talk. "Let me guess," I said. "We'll get back to it."

The screen showed a room with an old woman on a bed. I could see that it was Sarah and that she was far older than she is now. She was talking to Tina.

"It doesn't make any sense that your father and I should live longer than our baby," she said. "But I'll be with him soon and maybe your father will be with us in a few years."

"Mom, the way things are going now, we're probably all going to be dead soon. Half of the fucking world is already brain dead thanks to Jakey's creations. Mom, why didn't you ever tell Daddy the truth?" asked Tina.

"Honey, what good would that have done? I hurt the man I love more than it is humanly possible to forgive. What if he had forgiven me? Then he'd have been a laughing stock for the rest of his life. As much as it hurt me, I deserved it," she said.

"Yeah Mom, but did I deserve it. Did Jakey deserve it? I really think that's what twisted the two of them."

"Promise me that you'll never tell him, Tina," Sarah said. "Jakey's dead so it won't help him now. All it'll do is hurt your father even more. So promise me that you won't tell him."

Before Tina could answer, Sarah slipped away. I couldn't help it. I started crying again.

Tina looked over at me. She could see that I was not taking any of this well. Maybe it was harder on me than she'd anticipated.

"Tina, can we just get to the bottom line, here?" I asked. "I'm sure you didn't travel back in time just to make me feel shitty, or did you?"

"Dad I..." she began and then hesitated. "Dad, you told me several times so far that you didn't want to live in my world." I nodded.

"Well Dad, you already do," she said. "But you don't have to. You alone, of everyone on earth, have the potential to stop this from happening. For the past few weeks, I've been moving both forward and back in time and everything hinges on you."

"Tina, what are you talking about?" I asked again. I was beginning to become frustrated.

"Dad, in every age, there are a few people who shape the direction the world will go in. Henry Ford put the world on wheels. A few years later it was the air age with the Wright brothers. Bill Gates, later on, didn't usher in the computer age, but his company shaped the computer age. There had been computers before and software before, but Microsoft took computers out of the hands of the eggheads and put them in everyone's living room and then in their pockets and now they're under our skin."

"Daddy, Jakey did that in my era. My brother was a twisted genius. And he changed the world. If Jakey had been a little less twisted, things would probably have gone in a different direction. But the way things are now, or at least the way things are in my time, Jakey is dead and the world may not last another twenty years beyond him."

"Before I came back here, I went forward into the future, but we'll talk about that..." she began.

"Let me guess," I smirked. "We'll talk about that later."

"Anyway, Daddy, Jakey, like you, was driven and brilliant. But where you took your tragedy and focused all of your intellect on business and making money, he used his in a different way. The two of you are like opposite sides of a coin. You became bitter and finally sad because of what happened. So after a few years of dating women like the one you had last night, business just became your reason to live. You concentrated on making money above everything else. Years later, when all of the bitterness was gone you were just a sad, lonely, old man. You have all the money in the world but no one to spend it on. You know or assume that everyone around you is only there for the money. You buy and sell people like most people buy food. The thing you long for the most is the people you really love. But they're gone."

"Jakey, on the other hand, is just like his father. He has the ability to concentrate on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. Stemming from his childhood, the one thing he wanted most was to be loved. It was the thing he was denied as a child. His mother was broken and his father never spent any time with him at all. He longed for his father's approval. So he took the thing he wanted and in trying to create something for himself, he changed the world forever but it just grew beyond his ability to contain or control it."

"How is that similar?" I asked. "And why are you linking me and that boy together. I have nothing to do with the fact that his father neglected him. Davenport was an asshole, we all know that. You can't expect me to try and fix things that he fucked up."

"Daddy, God damn it," she screamed. "I don't have time to keep leading you through this with baby steps. Yes, Davenport was an asshole. But you're a bigger one. In fact you may be the biggest asshole on the planet. You, Daddy, not Davenport are the reason we may all be dying."

I was taken aback by the fury in her voice.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"Well, for one thing, you keep fucking interrupting me," she snapped.

"Daddy, Jakey started experimenting in robotics and artificial intelligence when he was only twelve. At first, he made silly little things like his talk box. That thing made him rich. It was a box that he could actually talk to. It was a very rudimentary AI. It would access the internet and get information and hold actual conversations with him. He could ask it questions and it would answer them. For a boy with no friends and no one to pay any attention to him, it became his best friend. Then he started working on bodies. Because of his brilliance and his success with the AI, he was able to set up partnerships with several other inventors and use or license their products. I remember going back to Mom's house when I was about twenty. I was in college by then and Jakey was still at home. There was a woman with him. Dad, I sat in the same room with her and was amazed at how beautiful she was. I thought that she was just trying to latch onto Jakey because of his brains."

"When I tried to talk to Jakey about it he just smiled and called her into the room. He asked her what she would do for him. She told him that she'd do anything he asked. Jake asked her if she would take a knife and slit her throat. She nodded her head. Jake handed her a knife and I swear if I hadn't grabbed her, she would have slit her throat."

"When I grabbed her wrist, she was still trying to fight me to cut her throat. She was stronger than hell and Jakey was just standing there laughing. Finally, he told her to stop. And then he did the weirdest thing. He told her to shut down and she just slumped to the floor."

"My little brother, by the time he was seventeen years old, had made himself a companion robot that was so realistic, that I couldn't tell the difference. Of course, she was a one of a kind. She had a pulse and she was warm to the touch. She also had the benefit of full AI. It would be years before robots like her were widely available. Jake had made her in conjunction with a sex toy company. After I understood what she was for and what she was, I looked at her more critically and I could tell. But over the next ten years, Jakey got richer and richer and his robots got better and better."

"Besides the sex robots, Jakey's company made labor saving robots and work robots and all different types of robots. Things finally got to the point that robots were doing most of the work for most people. We began to get fat and lazy. Jakey helped us again. He started programming the robots to take care of us. So if you need to get out and get some exercise your robot would make you ride a bike or run. Think about it. Your robot would actually DVR your favorite TV shows for you, then it would make you get your fat ass out there and ride your bike. Daddy, after a while no one had to work or think or do anything. The robots even make the robots. So very soon after that, the robots began to make the higher levels of decisions that people were simply to jaded or too disinterested to do. We're taken care of like idiotic children."

"Like you Daddy, Jakey had the ability to look at things and see the big picture. He realized that things had gone too far and that he needed to turn the whole thing off. But the robots had evolved. It wasn't like in Terminator. There was no "Judgment day," when the machines became self-aware and took over the planet. It was very subtle but also far more inclusive. The AI computers, the ones that controlled banking and the roads and traffic and manufacturing and food production and logistics, all became networked so they could serve us more seamlessly. Five years in the future from my time, no human had to work anymore. Ten years from my time, the human race has devolved and our intelligence and creativity had taken a marked step backwards. Fifteen years from my time, humanity tried to take back control from the machines and lost. Twenty years from my time was blocked, I literally couldn't go there or any further. Perhaps that was the limits of the technology I inherited from Jake, or perhaps there's nothing left of the world, I really don't know, but Daddy, you're the only one who can save us from this."