Phantom voice

The people that come after us will be smarter, stronger, immortal. They can judge us if they want, but they'll know they exist because of the things we did.

Hi baby Morgan, It feels kind of stupid, a waste of time, because there is no way a letter can travel back in years, but your older brother insisted I should follow our shrink’s advice, so here we go. I am writing a letter to the former me to discover something new and exciting about the current me. Bullshit. What can I say? Your path will be thorny. And there will definitely be roundabouts where you could just say no and go back to your joyful life of a daddy’s girl, rich, carefree, just smart enough to be able to enjoy the world around you. But for some weird reason, you will never take a sharp turn and choose a simpler life. I know I sound grave, and you are probably wondering about Alex. He is still around. Has always been. But… things are a bit different. I literally don’t know what age you are, baby self, but I tell you we’ve been through a hell lot of stuff with him. You can’t even imagine. And when I say you can’t, I mean it. What you’ll find out as you grow up is that he, out of all people, will always be on your side. Your biggest supporter, he’ll cater to your whims even if in the end they’ll prove to be… damaging. To both of you. Just… don’t forget. Your choices are tough. His choices are probably even tougher. But you will always have Paris, or rather, in your case, San Fransisco. Luckily, the neuromods come after. I have a feeling this is not what Mathias Kohl wanted me to write, but anyway, hear me out. What’s most important is keep doing your thing – something that inspires and fascinates you and makes your life worth living. When I look back, generally, everything feels worth it. Whatever you are doing, is extraordinary, is a breakthrough! Whatever you are doing is history and your name is in it, whether you like it or not. For me, this is a consoling thought. Would I do anything differently? Perhaps not. Well, might have kept a diary actually. You will find out. No use crying over a spilt milk, anyway. But you know what? Surprisingly enough, human connection and touch means a lot even to the most thick-skinned scientist as you’d consider yourself. Had I chosen the other way, I wouldn’t have Alex around. I wouldn’t have Mika, either, what’s more important. You have yet to know her. She is, I don’t know… Sometimes she is everything. Most of the time. All of the time. Time to wrap up. I think it has helped, even though, remember, we don’t like shrinks. I’ll end it, as is common, with a dot, because it’s your favourite and the most beautiful object to look at. Pale blue dot in your window. Your home.

Take care, baby me.

~ Morgan