Julian was watching the blurs that were the landscape outside. The train he was in must have been going down the tracks at over 600 miles per hour, as the trip was only slated to take four and a half hours. He glanced around the area surrounding his seat. The interior of the train was as futuristic as something he would have expected from a science fiction novel. The cabin was sleekly designed, reflecting the outside of the train which only added to the futuristic atmosphere. Needless to say, it took Julian a few minutes for his jaw to close.

“Why am I even doing this?” he asked no one in particular. A few curious glances passed by him from the other passengers. The woman he was going to see was barely even related to him. The amount of greats there were between him meant they shared only the smallest fraction of DNA. They were hardly related.

But, he knew this was something he needed to do. It was something that could provide closure. Closure for having left his family behind. He understood it wasn’t his fault for being sent into the future, yet he still felt some semblance of responsibility for what happened. Maybe if he had just gone straight to class instead of spending so much time at the polling place, then he wouldn’t have been abducted in the first place.

Julian slowly grew a frown on his face. The abduction. He didn’t even know what the Rogue Mursk did to him. Even with all of the tests the people at the base did to him, they couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Or, perhaps, what they did to him was simply beyond the scope of where human technology was. Or maybe they didn’t do anything to him. It was impossible to say.

He knew thinking things like this wouldn’t do much good for his mental health, so he decided to just keep staring out the window at the abstract art piece beyond the window. The ever-changing hues of the greens and blues provided a welcome distraction from his thoughts.

He must have fallen asleep at some point because he awoke to the sound of a feminine voice over the intercom declaring they had arrived at King Street Station -- Seattle’s train station.

It had been three hundred years since Julian had been on this side of the country. Stepping off the train, he was greeted to the wonderful weather he had long associated with the West Coast. However, tt was certainly not something he had been expecting. After all, he had grown up with the notion that this area was usually far cooler than San Diego. He certainly wasn’t going to complain about how nice the weather was though.

When he booked the train ticket a few days before, he made sure to allow himself some extra time before heading back to the base. He felt it was more than okay to spend some time wandering around the city since he really hadn’t spent anytime outside the base in the time period he found himself in.

Looking at the skyline around him only further cemented his case. It was beautiful. Something must have changed in city planning in his time away. The gleaming buildings pierced the sky with their awe-inspiring spires. The glass glittered the sky reflecting the twinkling light of the sun. Every so often, a spaceship could be seen entering the atmosphere to land at the spaceport. It truly was a sight to behold.

Thankfully, Sarah had given him a new phone to replace the one he had lost in his abduction. As such, he should have no trouble at all navigating the city.

Supposedly, there was a food place near the heart of the city Sarah had recommended. It was a Mexican place of all things. Having gone to school in San Diego though, he was a little on edge about how good it really could be considering the quantity and quality of the places in San Diego and just below the border. Regardless, he set off in the direction of the eatery. Thankfully, it was only a short walk from the station so it wouldn’t take long to get there.

The walk to the restaurant provided the time Julian needed to get over some of the splendor brought about by the majesty of the city. Once he had brought his eyes back down to the ground, he was able to notice some of the parts of the city that weren’t as nice. It seemed as if homelessness was an issue that pertained even to this day.

The food itself was delicious. He ordered some tacos with carne asada that had been grown in a lab. Thinking back to his time, he could remember something about how cow farts were some of the largest contributors to climate change. It was nice to know they had been able to get around that and still provide beef to the masses. He wondered if the steak he had eaten with Sarah was grown in a lab as well. It was just something that provided food for thought.

He would definitely have to thank her for the food recommendation though when he got back to the base.

With a now full stomach, Julian set about exploring more of the city. He had always wanted to visit the Space Needle, but seeing it today kind of made it seem less exciting as he had hoped. Now, many of the surrounding skyscrapers dwarfed the tower, causing it to lose some of its original might. Also, the buildings made it seem more aged and like a relic of the past, like him.

The thought came out of nowhere. Like him. What did that even mean? Was he just some dusty forgotten thing from the past that had no place in this new world?

No.

He wouldn’t let himself devolve into that state; he would adapt. He was Julian Hurt, and nothing would be able to take him down.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

With a new level of determination, Julian made his way forward. He had a Space Needle to go to. He made his way up to the top, and looked out at the world around him. Yes, things would be different, but he would persevere.

----------------------------------------

Julian spent the next few days lounging around and exploring more of the city. He even went to the areas others would typically try to avoid. He wanted to see everything there was to see about the world he found himself in.

While doing so, he did also think about what we would have done if he were in charge. He couldn’t help his inner self. Helping others, after all, was the reason why he had wanted to be Student Senator in the first place back at school. School. Now that was something he had completely forgotten about. Given the circumstances, he felt it was okay he had forgotten about it. Would he even go back? Could he? He decided these were questions for another time.

Nevertheless, he made sure to go to all of the tourist places and the hidden gems. He left almost no stone unturned.

Alas, his time in the city had come to a close, and now, he needed to go to his many-greats niece. She lived just outside the city in a pleasant two-story home with a nice yard. Standing outside the house, he was able to see the faded yellow paint on the wood panels. He had always liked the color yellow. It reminded him of his own home and his parents. His mom had always used yellow as an accent color to everything. She claimed it made the house feel brighter.

He took a deep breath and walked up the stone path to the door. He swallowed the saliva that had collected in his mouth, and knocked on the door. He waited for a minute with no response. Just as he was about to knock on the door again, it opened.

Despite the genetic distance between him and her, there were still some notable features that reminded him of his family. Her deep brown eyes reminded him of his mother and the way her eyes focussed on him brought memories of his father’s eyes to the surface.

“Can I help you?” she asked, undoubtedly annoyed at the intrusion and his staring at her.

Of course, he hadn’t realized he had been staring until her question brought him back to reality. “Sorry, I - er - yes. You just reminded me of my parents.” He mentally slapped himself in the face at the idiotic comment.

She narrowed her eyes. “That’s an unusual pick-up line, but it didn’t work. I’m not that desperate. So, if you don’t mind…” She made a hand gesture to shoo him away.

“Wait! I’m sorry. I don’t know how to say this, but um… I’m your uncle. Hi, I’m Julian.”

“Hi Julian. I’m Victoria. Now get off my property before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.” She slammed the door on his face.

Julian sighed. “Well, shit. That didn’t go well,” he said, plopping himself down on the steps in front of the door. He ran his fingers through his hair. This is what he gets for having a many-greats niece who’s the same age as him.

The door behind him opened. “What are you still doing here, Julian?” Victoria asked.

“You know, I do have papers from the military proving our connection, albeit small one.”

Victoria let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. You can come in, but don’t expect any drinks or anything like that. I’m not your mom.”

He followed her inside. The door opened up to a rather pleasant living room. It was nothing how he had expected it from his brief interactions with Victoria. It simply reminded him of home.

“So, which of my parents' siblings are you?” she asked as she sat down on the couch.

Taking this as being granted permission to do the same, Julian sat down on the other couch, and faced her. “Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I am actually your many-greats uncle. I’m from the year 2020.”

“Uh Huh. So is this some sort of scam you like to run? What. Did you get abducted by Rogue Mursk and put into some cryochamber for the last three hundred years?” she asked sarcastically.

Julian’s face froze. “Yeah?”

“Oh my God. I’m just shitting with you,” she said, not bothering to hold back her laugh. “That lady, Sarah I think, called me yesterday and explained the whole shitshow you’ve found yourself in.” At this point, tears were falling down her face as she continued to laugh.

“Are you kidding me? I was sitting outside for half an hour trying to figure out what I should say, and you already knew?”

“Hell yeah, Uncle Julian! It was totally worth it though. I kept looking out the window to make sure you didn’t leave. Now that we’re fully introduced, just call me Vicky.”

Julian nodded. “Alright Vicky, it’s great to meet you too. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do to afford a house like this?” he asked, gesturing to the room around him.

“Oh! I work for this shipping company based out of the city. They hired me last year as a manager.”

“At your age? Aren’t you as old as I am?”

“I am not three hundred, shithead!” she retorted. Seeing the look on his face, she dissolved into a fit of giggles. “I’m kidding! Yeah, I am twenty. But, I graduated from college just before they hired me.”

“You’re telling me you graduated at nineteen?” he asked in disbelief. He had only almost finished his general education requirements at twenty.

“Yeah? Anyways, you should meet the rest of the family at some point, but most of them are offworld these days. There are simply better job prospects in most cases beyond the planet. And don’t even get me started on the weather on parts of Gaia. That is where I wouldn’t mind retiring.”

“I still can’t believe we’ve colonized other planets. Back in my day,” he said with a badly done old person’s accent, “we were trying to get to Mars.”

“Oh! I should take you to Mars at some point. We never did terraform it since it would have cost way too much money, but we do have a decent amount of people living there in these crazy domes. You should see Musk Dome. It’s fucking massive!”

Julian’s eyes bulged. “Musk Dome?” He sighed. Of course there was a Musk Dome.

The two talked well into the night about anything and everything. Julian knew he would need to do more with Vicky. He wouldn’t abandon his family again. Their conversation ran so late, she offered to let him spend the night in the guestroom. He gladly accepted the offer, and went to the room.

Vicky gave him a toothbrush for the night as he prepared himself for bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.