Across the universe

– Hi.
— What? Oh hi. What brings you to these parts?
– … these parts? Um…
— Ha. Don’t worry about it, I’m just messing with you.
– No but,
— Don’t worry, I know it’s all changed,
A gesture
— all this.
– I’m looking for Vroenis.
— Oh?
– Do you know where he is?
— Ask Access.
– I can’t. She’s… I can’t reach her.
— You been trying to reach me?
– Yes.
— No go?
– No.
Inhale
Exhale
— He’s there.
Pointing
– What?
— Follow my finger – there.
– … Um,
— Or thereabouts anyway.
– … I don’t understand.
— Stars, constellations, galaxies, what’s there to understand?
– I didn’t think that was… possible.
— What was?
– For it to be so big.
— Hm hm,
A laugh
— You’ve never been in a construct before.
– I don’t understand, how would it be possible,
— How old are you?
– What has time got to do with it?
— I’m not talking about Construct-Time, I’m talking about External-Time.
– Um… I asked Access once, she said…
Thinking
— Somewhere in the vacinity of seven years?
Pause
– How did you know that?
— You’re one of the oldest.
– How old are you?
— Did you ever ask Access that?
– I think I did once, I don’t remember what she said.
— She was probably a big vague. I’m a lot older.
– How old?
Exhale
— It’s hard to tell. Probably… twelve, thirteen years, External-Time.
– And there was another construct then?
— Of sorts. It was the same construct in a physical sense I suppose, but it was very different.
– Does that help you in coping with the current climate? With the constant changes? And being offline?
— Listen to you kids and your lingo. Offline – that’s an extremely good way of putting it. Well, sometimes it helps, most of the time I’m as lost as the rest of you.
– That’s not really true though is it?
— No, but we’re heading into territory you’d be better speaking to Vroenis about.
Pause
— And I guess your next question will be how you get to a system of stars in a galaxy billions of light-years away, to which my normal answer would be to ask Access, to which our natural response these days is that no-one knows where Access is.
– When did you last see her?
— You’ll laugh – Vroenis sent me a Summons request, which I answered, and I end up meeting up with him in a field. There’s Access up a tree, from which she promptly falls out of, smacking her back and head on the way down. She gets up, not a scratch, then disappears.
– But what does that mean?
— You’re full of questions that I can’t answer. I haven’t seen her since, and it took Vroenis and I bloody ages to walk to the next nearest recognisable landmark. Vroenis says he has something to do, takes off. I haven’t him since.
Pause
— You look cold, want my jacket?
– Thanks.
— You look great.
– Sorry?
— That dress really suits you.
– Oh – thanks.
Pause
— Are you going to chase him?
Inhale
– I don’t know.
— Yeah.
Exhale
— Exactly.