A Visitor to the Future - 45 - Grumpy and Cheerful
I grasped the coffee mug in both hands and sipped it as we took a few minutes to enjoy the atmosphere of the café. Once I'd taken the time to settle down a bit, I felt much better. I thought about what I'd seen so far, and in many ways I felt foolish for expecting to see much familiarity in my hometown. Back in my own time, it was very rare to see buildings that were even hundreds of years old, never mind a thousand. There was probably a story associated with the still-standing lighthouse - some person who had decided to preserve the site, even when it would be better used for some other purpose. I wondered exactly how many buildings from my time might still stand.
And what of those from long before? I randomly thought of the Notre-Dame cathedral, which from my perspective had caught fire only a few years ago, and had to be restored. Incidents like that were probably inevitable - other historical sites might not have met a worse fate.
"How are you feeling?" asked a concerned Sarkona.
"Better now," I said, "Thanks. I know that you tried to warn me about the climate change angle, but I didn't really think about what that could mean."
"I probably could have prepared you better, sorry," said Sarkona, "I'm sort of used to Earth changing whenever I go away for significant periods of time. Places like Anchor spring up all the time, for example. Is there anything else I can do to help?"
I shook my head, "It's not your fault. I'd just like to learn how all this happened. IJmuiden went from a small city to..." I waved my hands around broadly at the hexagonal skyscraper we now found ourselves in, "...this!"
"I do have something for that," said Sarkona, patting their bag, "But it might be a bit much right now. Would you like me to find a historian? I'm sure someone would love to speak with you."
"That'd be great," I said with a smile.
As Sarkona logged a query with the Consortium, Tungsten gave me a quick wave to catch my attention.
"If you don't mind me saying," he said, "I saw you staring at the two ape-like individuals we encountered earlier. I also noticed how surprised you were by Sasha's ears yesterday. I take it you've not done a lot of research on individuals with heavy Bio-dev modifications?"
"Sarkona explained the basics to me on the Promise of Sol," I replied, "But you're right, I haven't. I wasn't being rude, was I?"
"No, not at all," said Tungsten, "At least not in my view. I think an adjustment period for you is only natural - it will take you a while to get used to seeing people so visually different from what you're used to. As I'm sure Sarkona will have told you, most people prefer human or humanoid forms, but if you're ever in doubt as to where to look or talk to, please ask the person you're speaking to. As an example, a CI friend of mine has a body without a head, and prefers that people make eye contact with his torso. No-one will think you rude for asking - especially on the no-gravity habitats."
"That topic has come up a lot," I said, "Are things really so different there?"
"Oh, yes," remarked Tungsten, "The bulk of experimental Bio-dev work happens in space, and those who like to make heavy modifications often group up, forming their own Orgs. It forms a sort of feedback loop, until you have entire habitats that don't look remotely human. But don't worry - just remember that even though they look different, people are still people."
"You can't judge a book by its cover?"
"Absolutely. The Human equivalent of that English phrase is the central premise of some of our early schooling. It is, however, one of the things the older cryocontained often have issues with. I think you'll be fine, though - after all, you adjusted to me quite easily, for example."
I thought briefly on that for a moment. Tungsten was not human, but he had his own body language, mannerisms, tone of voice - it was actually very easy for me to relate to him, and over the past few weeks I thought I'd gotten a bit better at reading his general reaction to things. Not a skill that I'd ever thought I'd develop.
"There we go," said Sarkona, "I've found someone. He says he'll fly in and meet us in about half an hour."
The figure that approached our table almost precisely half an hour later was a strange sight. Not because he was heavily Bio-dev modified, or because he was a CI, or any of the strange categories of individuals that I was quickly becoming used to - no, it was because he appeared to be in his late eighties, the first old-looking person I had seen in my time in the Consortium. He was almost entirely bald, with only a few eccentric grey wiry masses that stuck out over his head. His long nose and cheeks sagged, and his face was lined with wrinkles. His posture was slightly hunched and he walked at a leisurely pace, but he didn't seem infirm as he walked forward.
"Ah, hello," he said in an accented English that vaguely reminded me of Dutch, his tone warm but his voice slightly hoarse. He gave us each a short, polite bow. "Hmm. You must be Sarkona... and Tungsten... and that makes you our cryocontained - a former resident of IJmuiden in those early years! Hoho, you and I must have words. Please excuse my eccentricities, my biological age has the effect of making me equal parts grumpy and cheerful at times. My name is Robin Bomgaars, and history is one of my specialities."