Not every day in Emily's life was filled with self-actualization, fears about quantum mechanical probabilities, or schoolyard fights. Most days were in fact, quite relaxed, giving Emily the opportunity and space to deepen her relationships and understanding of her universe.
Emily spent many an afternoon with her father, Thomas, bonding over retro video games in the living room. The sounds of 8-bit music and electronic beeps filled the air as Emily’s fingers deftly navigated the controller.
"You're really good at this, Em!" Thomas laughed as his on-screen character lost another life. "How did you learn to play like this?"
Emily smiled, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment shrugged her shoulders noncommittally thinking “Well Dad - Daniel used to be really good at this game - but I can’t tell you that can I? Let’s just make sure his more colorful vocabulary doesn't sneak in too…”
—
In quieter moments, Emily surrounded herself with books. She often found herself in a peculiar position. Although she appreciated the simplicity and joy of childhood - her mind, imbued with Daniel’s memories and experiences, often yearned for a more significant intellectual challenge. Additionally, without the relentless pressure of societal competition that Daniel had faced, where learning was a race to be won or lost, Emily discovered a sense of liberation and pleasure in her casual pursuit of knowledge.
It was unsurprising that she thus developed a voracious appetite for knowledge, devouring encyclopedias, geography, literature, history, fiction and comic books with the same enthusiasm a seven year old would reserve for a fairy tale. Children’s books were a mild curiosity - the bright illustrations and charming narratives were intriguing in their own right but they did not engage her curiosity in the face of so much more substantial information being available in her father’s office library.
One evening, Sarah walked into Emily’s room to find her deeply engrossed in an astronomy book discussing the complexities of black holes.
'Emily, are you really understanding all this?' Sarah asked, slightly bemused as glanced at the book. ‘Or do you just like fancy pictures?’ she added teasingly.
Emily looked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. 'Yeah, it's incredible! Did you know black holes can warp spacetime around them!'
Sarah smiled, both surprised and rather proud. 'Well well - you might just be the youngest astrophysics enthusiast I know.'"
—
Emily’s friendships were blossoming. Since the day she crossed paths with Nate in the remarkable game of catch, and defended her and Lucy in a schoolyard scuffle, he had become an integral part of the group alongside Lucy and Lily. Initially, the girls were hesitant about a boy disrupting their tight-knit circle, but Nate’s unique perspective and his enthusiasm for activities typically considered 'boyish'—like Lego building and informal sports—quickly won them over.
Emily, delighted to have a member of the male persuasion join their little posse, used this opportunity to channel Daniel’s memories more than she would have ever expected. She engaged in discussions and activities with a vigor that would have made Daniel proud. This new dynamic allowed her to explore aspects of her personality she hadn’t realized were there, echoing a past life’s interests and developing a few more than Daniel had been intimidated by.
One sunny afternoon, after playing outside for what felt like hours, Emily returned home, feeling an odd sting on her arms. ‘Oh no, is this what I think it is?’ she thought, glancing at her reddened skin. Daniel rarely worried about sunburns - years of exposure to sunlight had given him a resilience that she hadn’t yet developed. 'MOM!’ she called - reminded once more how high and childlike her pitch was. “I think I got sunburned…”
Sarah sighed, fetching some aloe vera. "You did, sweetie. I’ve told you before - you need to wear sunscreen when you play outside!’
As Sarah applied the gel, Emily winced ‘ugh - should I tell her I just didn’t think it was that big a deal? Ah drop it Emily.’ ‘You’re right mom, I should have remembered, I’ll be careful next’ she mumbled reluctantly. Her inner Daniel’s curiosity piqued despite the discomfort. ‘"It's the ultraviolet rays, right? UV-B I think?"
‘Exactly,’ Sarah responded, impressed with her daughter's understanding. ‘Sunscreen acts as a barrier against those harmful rays.’
Emily nodded, a mix of thoughtfulness and irritation crossing her features. ‘Great...this is just awesome…another adaptation to add to the list,’ she muttered. ‘Guess I’ll learn to douse myself in sunscreen like I'm gearing up to meet the sun itself!’
—
Her curiosity extended beyond personal experiences. Emily frequently read newspapers and journals, trying to understand the nuances of this universe. She was fascinated to discover that Bill Gates was known as Michael Gates here, oil prices were generally higher and consequently cars were generally smaller than the guzzling behemoths in Daniel’s universe. The internet seemed to be poised to expand but still lagged behind the 90s’ pace in Daniel’s world.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As she navigated her daily life, Emily noticed even additional subtle differences that set this universe apart. Despite the advent of CDs, the population seemed to prefer analog media - cassette tapes, vinyl records and similar - suggesting a reluctance to embrace new technologies. Road signs, marked in kilometers and adorned with unfamiliar symbols, hinted that the U.S. had adopted the metric system here—a shift that amused Emily.
Mobile phones had scarcely made a dent in the market; people still clung to pagers and public payphones. Emily pondered the broader implications of this delay. 'Will smartphones and smart tech also evolve later here?' she wondered. In Daniel's time, such technologies had woven themselves deeply into the fabric of society. Here, the slower pace might foster different forms of interaction—perhaps more face-to-face conversations, less isolation, an absence of social media induced depression and perhaps a stronger community feel in public spaces.
These reflections made her both nostalgic for Daniel’s technologically advanced world and hopeful, intrigued by the vibrant direct human connections often seen in her new surroundings. 'Maybe if Daniel had been born in this universe, he wouldn’t have been so isolated?' she pondered. 'I wonder how different social norms will affect the fabric of this society? Will we ultimately still value human connection, or will we find another way to alienate ourselves from each other?' she mused, feeling a mix of frustration and appreciation for the unique pace of life here.
In class, Emily noticed that the slang her classmates used was different. Phrases like "wicked cool" and "totally rad" were still relatively part of everyday language, which seemed quaint to her but still charmingly retro. Fashion in this world was also more varied, often more colorful and eclectic and it wasn’t unusual to see someone sporting neon colors. Emily found it intriguing, a stark contrast to the more subdued styles she remembered. "Not my cup of tea, I like Daniel’s dark jeans and t-shirts, but…it is still cool!" she thought appreciatively.
Her history lessons brought even more surprises. During a unit on the discovery of DNA, the textbook prominently featured Rosalind Franklin alongside Watson and Crick, giving her equal credit for her contributions. Emily smiled, feeling a sense of justice for Franklin in Daniel’s world. "Finally, some recognition - even if it is in another universe" she thought, impressed by this world’s acknowledgment of Franklin’s crucial role.
—
Lying in bed one night, Emily contemplated how she could use her adult knowledge for financial investments. "If only I could invest in the stock market," she thought. "But who would take advice from a seven-year-old? I'll have to wait until I'm older." Despite these limitations, Emily couldn’t help but dream about the possibilities presented by Daniel’s knowledge of the future. She envisioned potential opportunities and strategies, her mind racing with possibilities.
'I’ll need to be careful—this universe isn’t quite the same, and the corporate dynamics here might be quite different,' she thought. The harsh realities of oligopolies and overpowering multinational corporations in Daniel’s time weighed on her. Her face darkened as she recalled the unnecessary stress and suffering caused in Daniel’s world - the stark disparities in income, shareholder supremacy, corporations influencing politicians and setting policies to benefit their own bottom line, the clear division between winners and losers, environmental degradation and a constant, toxic, hustle culture being glorified.
‘Did that harsh, unforgiving, winner take all environment contribute to his health issues?’ she wondered. ‘He was petrified of falling through the cracks, losing everything because his health made it hard to work, watching all his hard work be nullified because he struggled to walk?’ She glanced mournfully at the moonlight streaming through her windows ‘maybe..living in the shadows and recesses of his own mind for so many years broke him in the end?’
‘Perhaps,’ she mused, ‘it wasn’t just the physical ailments that wore him down, but the constant pressure, the fear of invisibility, the fear of falling through in a society that hyper prioritized winning over everything else. Perhaps…the most damage was done in those quiet moments of despair, when he felt most alone, most vulnerable.’
Feeling both anxious and hopeful, Emily allowed herself to dream that perhaps in this universe, systems might value humanity a bit more? Perhaps this universe would be gentler, kinder?
—
Sometimes, Emily found herself missing certain aspects of Daniel's universe. She longed for Daniel’s high-performance gaming PC and the thrill of a competitive game of Call of Duty. The simplicity of the retro games she played with Thomas brought joy, but there was a part of her that missed the complex, immersive experiences of gaming in Daniel’s era.
Emily also missed the convenience of her smartphone There were moments when she would reflexively reach for an imaginary device, only to remember it wasn't there. On occasion she also found herself more hesitant to explore the world outside her neighborhood - feeling insecure without the presence of a GPS or mobile maps system from Daniel’s universe. Most of all, she missed the instant access to the internet, where any information she needed was just a few taps away. Now, she had to be content with less information acquired more slowly.
However, this slower pace of information gathering presented its own unexpected benefits. Emily realized that the information she did consume seemed to be of higher quality. It forced her to be more selective and thoughtful, leading to a deeper appreciation for what she learned. This slower pace also encouraged more face-to-face interactions, fostering deeper connections and meaningful conversation with those around her.
She realized that being constantly connected had its own cost. She remembered Daniel obsessively checking emails every few minutes, the barrage of text messages across multiple platforms that stressed him out as he inevitably failed to read all of them, and the pressures of comparisons and 'corporate brand building' induced by social media. Emily pondered gazing at the starlit sky through her window. 'Maybe... humanity wasn’t ready for being constantly connected in Daniel’s universe?' she wondered. ‘Maybe tech can..outpace our ability to adapt and end up draining us instead?’
Despite the occasional longing for the conveniences of her past life, Emily began to appreciate the benefits of this more deliberate, simpler, way of living. It was a reminder that sometimes, slowing down and engaging more deeply with the world around you could be just as fulfilling. Through these everyday experiences and reflections, Emily deepened her understanding of the world she now inhabited. The differences and similarities intrigued her, fueling her intellectual curiosity and helping her feel more connected to her new life.