The Emoticon Generation (31 page)

“It’s a red Ford, right?”

“You saw it?”

“Am I right?”

“Yes. When did you see it?”

“This morning, as I came in. Look, I’ll leave you to your tow truck.”

“Yah.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Tony ran to the car. As he sped through traffic, he dialed Matt’s lab.

“Sanders.”

“Matt, Tony.”

“Tony, listen –”

“Remember the incident with the car we saw yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

“Get it ready on the screen. I have to see it again. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

“Anything else?”

“It’ll wait. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Bye.”

Ten minutes later, Tony parked in his spot in front of Eternity Plus. He half-ran through the front doors, and to the elevator.

“Tony!” A voice called from behind him just as the elevator doors opened.

Tony turned around. It was Sylvia, his personal assistant.

“Not now,” he said, and took walked into the elevator.

“Tony!” and her tone made it clear that this was important.

Tony put his hand in the space in front of him, keeping the elevator door from closing. “What?”

“The general meeting.” He’d asked her to go through the usual routine. Whenever he felt it necessary to delay a general meeting, all he had to do was call a couple of shareholders and ask them not to come. And with a quorum not met, the general meeting would be delayed. “Everyone refused. They’re all coming.”

“They
all
refused?”

“Yes.”

“All
ten
?” With him and Matt not coming, all they needed was one person.

“Yes.”

That was the first time this has happened. Something big was happening and he’d missed it. They were preparing for war. “All right. Thanks. Put the meeting back on my calendar.”

“Should I try again? Should I try to pressure them in any –”

“No, no. They want a war, they’ll get a war.” Just not the one they planned. “And make sure it’s on Matt’s calendar, too.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” He removed his hand, and the elevator doors immediately closed in front of him.

One floor down, and he ran into the computer lab.

Matt stood up.

“Show me,” Tony said, sitting at his usual spot.

Matt looked at him, then, seeing that look in his eyes, decided it was best to press ‘Play’.

“Watch,” Tony said. “A red Ford. The same type of car Steve rented. Now he’d just swerved to avoid a guy that jumped in front of him.” The car slammed into the wall of the hospital room. “See, first thing he does is call the tow truck. Fast-forward until he dials again.” Matt pressed a key, and Steve went through the motions at high-speed. He hung up and dials again. “Slow it down.” Matt did so. “Okay, now he’s talking to me. He’s telling me he can’t come to the interview Sylvia scheduled at six.”

The old man walked in and screamed at Steve while Steve was talking. Finally Steve turned around, and shouted at him.

“‘Hey!’” Tony mouthed, “‘Mr. Comic Relief! I’m
talking
here!’” Matt looked at Tony, jaw half open.

“Look at the lips, look at the lips,” Tony urged him on. “Now he’s saying ‘Enough,’” Tony synchronized perfectly. Steve turned his back on Pantalone, and continued to talk to his phone partner. “‘Sorry about that,’” Tony said.

“Now I ask him what happened.

“‘This guy here looks like one of those ridiculous characters from the Commedia Del’Arte,” Matt quickly looked away from Steve’s lips to Tony, then back again, astonished. The words matched
perfectly
. “‘Pantalone, I think his name is.’”

Now Steve turned back to shout at Mr. Comic Relief, who was shouting at him from behind.

“‘Yes, yes, I can see the damage, we’ll compensate you, stop shouting.’ Now Steve gets really angry,” Tony said over some of Steve’s words. “‘Stop! Shouting! Go back in! Go in!’” Mr. Comic Relief, shamed, left the hospital room.

“See, now he’s talking to me, he’s canceling the interview. We’re rescheduling.” But this is where the similarity would stop, because if Tony had lived, he would never have seen this beforehand, he would never have tried to guess the color of Steve’s car.

“Now watch what happens next,” Tony leaned forward.

Steve turned off the cellphone. He waited a second, then turned around, and bumped into Tony, carrying tote bags.

Tony pressed on a key, and the image froze. “Steve’s accident was a bit before six p.m. It was into the laundromat at East 65th and 2nd Avenue. At five thirty, Tony’s calendar has her picking up her dress from Couture Brides & Belles, which just happens to be on East 66th and 2nd Avenue. That’s less than a two-minute walk away. She’d try the dress on, see that it was perfect or see that it wasn’t, pack it or return it, talk a bit with the tailor and at around six she’d head back for the car. Last time she was there, she told me about this great place that had cheap parking on 64th and 2nd, which meant that walking back she would
have
to bump into Steve.”

Tony pressed the key again, and on the screen Tony and Steve came alive again.

“‘Oh, what a
coincidence
!’” Tony mimicked their voices. “‘Why, what are
you
doing here? I only saw you a few hours ago.’”

“That wasn’t in synch,” Matt said.

“I know. Now he’s telling her about the accident. See, she’s asking if he’s all right. I’m fine, I’m fine. Now she’s offering to take him with her car. No, no, he says, I have to wait for the tow truck. Well, I’ll just wait here with you. He says no, she says yes, he says no, she says, ‘That’s your tough luck’,” in perfect synch; she’d always said that. “He finally agrees.”

Now the two of them just stood there, waiting. Slowly, they began to talk.

Matt looked at Tony. “What are they saying?”

“I don’t know,” Tony hissed. “I wasn’t
there
.”

“Then how did you know everything he said
before
?”

“Because,” Tony looked straight into Matt’s eyes. “Everything there just happened.
Exactly
the way it’s seen here. Word for word. Except for the part with Tony. I told you. I knew all along. She wasn’t
supposed
to die. And that
thing
,” he pointed at the computer, “shows the future.”

Matt hesitated for a second, then said, “I know.”

Tony’s breath caught. “What?”

“Well, about the last part at least. This thing shows the future.”

Tony felt part of his legs turn numb. “How do you know?” he managed.

“I kept looking deeper. I found a few more Steve moments.”

“And ... ?”

“I’ll show you.” Matt turned his back to Tony and began clicking on his computer.

Suddenly there was a single bed in the middle of the hospital room. Steve was sitting on it, reading a newspaper.

“I’ll fast-forward,” Matt said.

Steve began to flip through the pages at a ridiculous speed. Tony came in, dressed in a bathrobe, her hair covered in a towel. Obviously, she’d just showered. Steve looked up at her.

“What the hell is that?” Tony said.

“That’s not it yet,” Matt said. He fast-forwarded again. Steve and Tony began to talk, but also kept their distance. Tony sat on a chair that seemed to be part of their new room. A couple of minutes later, Steve got up from the bed and walked near the camera. “There!” Matt said, and slowed it down to normal speed. Steve got even closer. “There!” And Matt froze the picture.

“What?”

“The newspaper, look at the newspaper.” The paper filled half the screen.

“What about it?”

“That’s
today’s
newspaper. Right down to the headlines and all the small print I could make out.” Tony looked at it again. He’d dismissed it because he’d recognized it. “That’s today’s newspaper,” Matt said. “Which we got from Tony’s brain more than three weeks ago.”

“How can this be?”

“I ... There can only be one explanation. There’s an infinite number of numbers. If you looked long enough, you’d find any scenario, any newspaper, any possible person here, I’m sure of that. We could just as easily find plays Shakespeare would have written had he lived longer. We just happened to find a possible scenario with today’s –”

“You don’t think that’s what it is, do you?”

Matt shrugged. “What other explanation is there? That there’s something inside of us that knows the future? That our
‘destiny’
is ingrained into us from birth? That’s ...
absurd
.”

Tony looked at the frozen image. “That’s today’s newspaper. That’s something that would have happened today.”

Matt looked at him, not following. “What?”

“Steve and Tony would have met earlier today, at two, at our place for the pre-interview. There’s no doubt about that. They would have met again, four hours later, at six, after he crashed into the laundromat. There’s no doubt about
that
. So this hasn’t happened yet. But it’s supposed to happen today, that’s what the existence of the newspaper means. Where is this? What is this? When is this?”

“I ... Well, having seen all this from beginning to end, I can tell you by the electric clock near the bed,” he pointed to it. “This entire thing here happens between 11 p.m. and one a.m.”

“11 p.m. today?”

“I guess.”

“Where is this? Why are they together? Why is she dressed like that?”

“The towel, if you notice, is from the Sunnyside Motel.”

“That’s where Steve is staying!”

Why would she be there, at his place? She couldn’t have had a row with Tony and left. That’s just not possible. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have gone to stay with a complete stranger. What would she be doing there?

And then something about the times clicked in his head. At 7 p.m. today she’d scheduled a prep for an exclusive interview with former NBA superstar John Binias. The man hadn’t shown his face in public since he quit so suddenly six months ago, and although Tony today couldn’t be sure that he was where he was supposed to be, it was rumored now in the papers that he was somewhere in New York, which meant that he
was
here, which meant that the interview would have gone on as scheduled. Tony had learned from him that he was supposed to stay at his grandparents’ house for three days and they had agreed to hold the interview there. Their house was an hour’s drive from the city, passing the Sunnyside Motel going both ways.

In doing a prep, she always made sure it’s no less than two hours, to get the other side at ease with her, but she always made sure, too, that it was no more than three hours, so that whatever the man said to the camera did not sound rehearsed. Which meant that by ten p.m. at the latest, she’d be on her way back home. Passing the Sunnyside Motel anywhere between ten and ten thirty. But even if she saw Steve there, even if she stopped to say hello, she wouldn’t have stayed over.

The only way she’d stay was if ... if there was no way back. What if there was a traffic jam to end all traffic jams, what if the FBI, suspecting a terrorist attack or chasing someone, cordoned off part of the city, and there was no way back?

Then eventually she’d call Tony, saying she’s stuck in this awful traffic jam.

He’d say, ‘Yes, I heard it on the news, the entire city’s clogged down because of this whatever-it-is.’

She’ll say, ‘When do you think it’ll be over? I’ve been sitting in the same spot for fifteen minutes.’

‘Who knows.’

And then they’ll talk a bit, but eventually he’ll either ask her or she’ll tell him without him asking where she is exactly. It wouldn’t be possible to have that conversation and
not
ask.

So she’ll say, ‘I’m right outside the Sunnyside Motel.’

And he’ll say something along the lines of ‘Why that’s exactly where Steve and the camera crew are staying. Why sit in the car until the middle of the night when this thing will probably be over? They’re nice people, they’ll probably agree to have you over for the night. You don’t need the aggravation.’

And she’ll agree. And Steve will volunteer his room.

And for all this to actually happen, something else must happen today, something that would clog down the city and create a jam outside it at a time that would have put Tony right outside the Sunnyside Motel.

So they’d spend the night together. And ... What?

Tony looked at Matt. “This is two-hours-long, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Then before I see it, give me the bottom line. What happens here?”

“First they eat something. I think it was leftovers from what he had. Then she takes a shower. Then they talk and talk. They talk for almost the entire time. It’s boring to watch. Then she sleeps on the bed, and he sleeps on the small couch. And that’s it.”

Tony stared at the frozen picture. Then, after a minute, he looked at Matt. “They talk and talk?”

Matt nodded.

“Does he yell?”

“Ah ... Yes, actually, there is a bit where he yells.”

“Show me.”

Matt sped forward at ten times the normal speed. The entire time, clearly deep into a conversation, the two of them sat about three yards apart (Steve having sat back down on the bed). Finally, as Steve’s gestures seemed to grow bigger, he stood up from the bed, Matt slowed it down to normal speed. Tony looked at his gestures. He was definitely yelling. And the color of his face ... Tony leaned back. “The speech,” he whispered. “Dammit!”

He kept watching the silent speech as Steve got more and more heated. And then Tony noticed that Matt was looking at him and not at Steve or Tony. It took him a second to understand. He froze the picture and looked at Matt. “You found more, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Show me.”

“Well, there are two more incidents with Steve that I found.”

“Show me.”

“I’m ...” Matt couldn’t finish the sentence.

“What?”

But Matt just looked at Tony. “I’m not sure you want to see them.” And the look in Matt’s eyes caused Tony to take a deep breath and lean back, fighting back panic.

“Why?”

“One of them has ... It has Tony ...”

“What? Matt, what?”

“It shows ... It shows Tony and Steve’s wedding.”

For a second Tony’s eyes seemed to lose focus, then he said, “Are you sure? Could it be –”