It was as if he were looking into a mirror that somehow aged him by 20 years.
Andrew scanned his older face quickly, looking for the wrinkles of time. His full head of hair was all white, with flecks of light brown. The kind laugh lines around his eyes were only lines, now. His smooth skin was shiny and a bit more translucent, with fine wrinkles near the stress points. When the old man spoke, it was his voice, with more gravel, and about a tone lower.
"Yeah, it's me..." he corrected himself,
"-you. It's 2040. I had to fix a broken VCR to make this tape for you. You know how hard it is to export from your com to a VCR? Completely incompatible formats, I tell you..."
Andrew consciously closed his mouth, hiding his astonishment. He looked in his hands at the empty package that once contained the VHS tape he was now watching. He scrutinized it for clues as to where it came from... It looked like a normal postal shipping box. It was empty inside, and the tape was unmarked on the outside. The tattered FedEx Slip was a barely-visible smudge from 3 layers of forms.
The older self continued, "Hell, for that matter, you know how had it is to find a blank VHS tape in 2040?"
He cleared his throat, starting a new tack.
"No matter. Got to get to the point - This is a warning. Believe it or not. Time Travel is possible, the VHS tape you're watching is proof. I did not invent it, but I do think I'm the one who's traveled farthest back in time."
The older Andrew on the videotape looked off camera for a moment before he continued again.
"I can't speak at length, but let me tell you - I'm coming. You've made the wrong decision, and I'm here to fix it."
The television screen burst into static, as the video ended. Young Andrew reached and turned down the volume on the tiny television. His eyes were on the screen, but his mind was a thousand miles away.
Young (present) self, shuffled over to his desk, fired up a browser and checked his email. His mind whirled at the potential possibilities as he surfed to NetFlix to add the 'Back to the Future' series to his Queue. He also popped open another browser tab, and started a google search on .time travel science'. He hunched over, and groked away.
# # #
Andrew scanned his older face quickly, looking for the wrinkles of time. His full head of hair was all white, with flecks of light brown. The kind laugh lines around his eyes were only lines, now. His smooth skin was shiny and a bit more translucent, with fine wrinkles near the stress points. When the old man spoke, it was his voice, with more gravel, and about a tone lower.
"Yeah, it's me..." he corrected himself,
"-you. It's 2040. I had to fix a broken VCR to make this tape for you. You know how hard it is to export from your com to a VCR? Completely incompatible formats, I tell you..."
Andrew consciously closed his mouth, hiding his astonishment. He looked in his hands at the empty package that once contained the VHS tape he was now watching. He scrutinized it for clues as to where it came from... It looked like a normal postal shipping box. It was empty inside, and the tape was unmarked on the outside. The tattered FedEx Slip was a barely-visible smudge from 3 layers of forms.
The older self continued, "Hell, for that matter, you know how had it is to find a blank VHS tape in 2040?"
He cleared his throat, starting a new tack.
"No matter. Got to get to the point - This is a warning. Believe it or not. Time Travel is possible, the VHS tape you're watching is proof. I did not invent it, but I do think I'm the one who's traveled farthest back in time."
The older Andrew on the videotape looked off camera for a moment before he continued again.
"I can't speak at length, but let me tell you - I'm coming. You've made the wrong decision, and I'm here to fix it."
The television screen burst into static, as the video ended. Young Andrew reached and turned down the volume on the tiny television. His eyes were on the screen, but his mind was a thousand miles away.
Young (present) self, shuffled over to his desk, fired up a browser and checked his email. His mind whirled at the potential possibilities as he surfed to NetFlix to add the 'Back to the Future' series to his Queue. He also popped open another browser tab, and started a google search on .time travel science'. He hunched over, and groked away.
# # #
