Ex-Gen, Next Gen

by Adrian Gaetano

“What a cute baby - may I hold it?”
It was a bold request - even rude for a stranger to make such a request in a public forum. The younger woman paused momentarily, and glanced around at the others in the lift carriage.
The lift attendant winked at her, encouraging her to agree. She smiled and acquiesced, handing over her special bundle for the other woman to cuddle and fondle.
“Thank you...um...?” the older woman began.
“Jennifer.”
“Thank you, Jennifer...”
The child became the centre of attention for the small group of people stranded in the broken lift carriage.

Alongside the older woman, her husband raised his eyes to heaven and gently nudged his wife as she was handed the child.
“Martha, what are you doing?”
“Look at him, Petra!” Martha stated by way of reply, cradling the child gently and staring into the small face. Then, she looked pleadingly at Jennifer.
“Oh I’m sorry...is it a boy or girl?”
“It’s a boy...” replied Jennifer proudly, “His name is Aaron.”
“I see...hello, Aaron...” Martha gently touched the baby’s chin.
“Aaron Matthew McMurtrie Naman...” Jennifer continued.
“Oh!” the older couple both gasped audibly, and tears misted up in Martha’s eyes, “I’m sorry, but Matthew was the name of our own child...” commented Martha, leaning forward to kiss the child gently. Her husband reached out his arm and cradled his wife.
“Our son Matthew...he passed away recently...” he explained softly. His eyes also rested tenderly upon the child in his wife’s arms, and he reached out to stroke the baby’s cheek.
“I’m sure he would have loved children...he was such a gentle man...” Martha thought aloud, “...but he wasn’t...um, the marrying type...” There was an awkward silence for a few moments.
“Aaron Matthew McMurtrie...” Martha said quietly to the babe in her arms, “What a beautiful young man. I bet your mother and father are very proud of you...”
The women’s eyes met - Martha had asked Jennifer a personal question that begged an obvious answer.
“I’m sorry,” she replied, “...but his father was recently killed in a car accident.”
The older couple both opened their mouths in astonishment - and in sympathy. They nodded silently, acknowledging their common humanity over such a tragic coincidence.
“A child is God’s way of showing that the world is meant to keep going...” Martha said sincerely, handing back the child with an affectionate tear softening her cheeks.

The lift attendant suddenly announced that the power failure had ended and that normal operations had been resumed. The lift arrived at the ground floor and the doors opened. Most of the crowd filed out quietly. As the old couple began to move, Martha reached out to touch Jennifer’s arm.
“You have a special baby...” she said, “Take good care of him.”
“Thank you, I will.”
The older couple departed, and the lift attendant winked at the young woman. “Thank you for letting her hold your baby...” he said, “It helped to take the stress out of our being stuck here for those few minutes...”
“That’s all right...” she said, then paused, glimpsing at his attendant’s name badge, “...Drew...That’s all right, Drew. Um...Do I know you?”
“No...you’ve probably seen me around, Ma’am. I’m sure that you’ll see me again some time...”
Jennifer turned to exit the lift carriage.
“’Bye Ma’am...” the attendant called aloud, smiling amicably, “’Bye Matthew...”
His voice hinted at a sadness beyond measure.

The lift was empty except for the young man. He pondered the results of his weeks of computer research and manipulation of the building’s occupants and electricity supply. His mission was a success, and it had ended. It was time to go home. He reached to touch an attachment on his belt, and he was gone in a flash of bright green. Somewhere, a sonic boom exploded.

The time traveller walked through the door of his apartment, and the force field closed the portal behind him. He went to a wall alcove and collected a personalised synthetic alcohol drink. Then, he sat down on one of the local force field chairs and lifted his feet onto the static footrest.
He activated a holographic image of his past partner, who laughed and spoke in an endless loop of holographic memory. As he watched the young man wave and move, Drew recalled a conversation they had shared before the mind plague had claimed another victim.
“Thank you for being my friend, lover and partner, Drew. Thank you for joining my family.”
The dying man had smiled lovingly at both Drew and Jennifer, “Mum, Drew, look after each other. You’re both gay...you both love me ...be family to each other, okay?”
Later, Jennifer had explained to Drew that she had conceived her child through IVF with assistance from a gay man who had been killed shortly afterwards - and that one of her deepest personal regrets was that Aaron’s paternal grandparents had never met their grandchild.
“Well...” Drew raised his glass to toast his day’s visit into the past. He marvelled at his own skills, being able to manipulate past events and people, changing the time line in a way that was personally significant but without causing any historically notable changes.

“...Aaron Matthew McMurtrie Naman, you did get to meet your grandparents!”


future city