"Don't you want to travel?" my mother had asked me the previous evening. "Don't you want to go anywhere?"
I and my melancholy uncle take a trip to the 1970s. As we see the sights, we reflect on how disconcerting it feels to see a mix of familiar buildings and new, yet older ones. Why, one could turn to a trusted shortcut and crash into a wall!
As the starship crosses the cosmos, I'm the one who goes EVA to adjust the stargates. The infinite depths of the universe look kinda boring close up. I tweak things with pop-up windows and a cursor. Was I less of a geek, this would be a holographic projection with optic browsing; as I am, it's my reality's user interface.
My car accelerates to 300 kph, swerving to dodge rocks. I am one level up, holding the controller. I am behind the wheel. The shift is unnoticeable, yet unsettling and it makes me a man on a mission with a direction, if only because of my complete inability to turn or stop.
I run ever faster, never tiring, each footfall landing where it should. Also, a lot of people turn into hamsters but it's all good.
I take a shortcut through Hell. They're courteous enough to visitors - turning the lava pools off and everything - and it isn't very long, making instead efficient use of its space. Still, the sight of robot imps shoving people into the fire is sickening, and the sounds (though cliche) are worse. It probably wasn't worth it.
The trees zoom past me and the ground is a blur until I arrive at a lakeside. The bright green on the trees fills the shores and the water is a not recognizing myself in the mirror. There's light, but nothing moves, since it's a white night and without the silence it might as well be day.
It's sublime, but I have a job to do. I run to the end of a pier, and dip my hand into the water. Ripples spread far faster than they should, disturbing the things beneath the water. It is done. Now acutely aware of the danger of sharks, I sprint back to shore to see black seals emerge to the rocks. They're cute for a moment, then I remember that seals are strong, vicious beasts and need their space to tolerate humans. I walk away, then sprint, but they need a huge amount of space and they're spreading out.
I run.