A Visitor to the Future - 130 - Last Days on Earth
If I'd said to someone from the twenty-first century, "How would you spend your last days on Earth?" reactions would have varied. For one thing, it was a far more serious question in the context of my time, the sort of question you might say to someone thinking about the end of their life. But in my case, the opposite was true. I was practically at the start of mine.
I was now functionally immortal. Getting the space modifications that Sarkona had recommended had been a no-brainer in the end. Adding the freezing of my aging process to the list had been no great difficulty for them, apparently.
It wasn't a decision made lightly. I'd lost more than a few nights sleep over the idea. My breakthrough had come after meeting for coffee with Robin Bomgaars - the kindly historian who had shown us around the new, improved IJmuiden. When we'd last spoken he'd been in the process of de-aging himself from his elderly state. Now he was a spry thirty years old again, his body now able to keep pace with his energetic intellect. Seeing the radical difference firsthand had really made me realize that physical fitness wasn't something to be taken for granted. It was the small things - the way he comfortably held his coffee cup, or sprinted up stairs without effort. Besides, if I changed my mind later, I could always do what Robin had done and resume my aging progress.
My decision had redefined my last days on Earth. What had been a list of things to do in my last days on Earth had just become a list of things I wanted to do that I wouldn't get to do again in a while. Walk along beaches, admire the bluest skies of Earth, cross wide open fields, and I even went birdwatching, of all things. These were all things I wouldn't have the chance to do again until I returned. But I would be returning - whether in a year or so as I'd planned, or whether I decided to stay out there for longer.
I was hoping I wouldn't be gone for too long, though. Antonia had asked if I'd take her to a festival two years after my leaving date. I think that was her way of making sure I'd come back. I'd spent plenty of time with her before I was due to leave - and I was sure we'd continue to message each other as we'd been doing.
As for my other friends and acquaintances, I'd split my time equally between them. I'd received a mixed reaction from Blaise and Sasha - I suppose at their age heading offworld for a few years might feel like a holiday. Regolith certainly didn't seem like he was making a big deal about the planned trip. Of the auditors, I was surprised to find that Alexandra seemed to understand my nervousness the most, and she above all others encouraged me to write from time to time, which I said I'd do.
I visited the University of East Jurczak where I'd met Silence for the first time. With the conflict between the parties there resolved, Silence had left Earth, no doubt to douse the flames of conflict somewhere else in the system. I sent him a message with some details about my plans - he replied, wishing me the best and stating that he envied my "Being able to visit Mars with fresh eyes and an open mind."
I took a trip to the former Thorium reactor site where Malcolm, Waiola and the Earth Reclamation Project had been engaged in their conservation efforts. They were long gone, now - there was nothing there now but a small clearing and watering hole where animals would stop to drink.
Anchor was my next destination, where I watched a play - where all roles were performed by the Teleform Aida. I couldn't help but wonder how well Aida might be able to pilot a combat proxy with that level of multitasking ability. On the way out I saw a few groups of hopefuls, all there hoping to conquer the latest iteration of the Anchor challenge.
I checked in with Chisom in Baobab and found her with a group of young students. We talked in Human and the children critiqued my thick accent in that blunt but innocent way that young children can give unfiltered opinions. Chisom used the opportunity to talk about empathy and giving feedback to people. I was just happy that they could only find issues with my accent, not my grammar or word choice.
I briefly stopped by Corrosis' forest cabin and admired their woodworking skills, which were getting better by the day.
All in all, I'd seen the people that I knew continuing to do the things they did on a day to day basis. It sparked the realization that my list had been a little melodramatic. Neither the things that I'd miss or the people that were here seemed to be going anywhere, especially with the Consortium monitoring the environment as closely as it did. Earth, and all the things I enjoyed about living there, would be there when I got back.
It was time to look forward - or, more accurately, up. I'd said my goodbyes, packed my bags, and met up with the traveling group in Anchor. As we made the long ascent, my trepidation faded away with the sensation of gravity, with the blue skies of home gave way to an endless expanse of stars.
"Look," said Sarkona, pointing out of the window of the station towards one of the myriad points of light, "That one is Mars."
I floated over and marked the position - I was looking forward to seeing it grow brighter each day.