THE MOMENT
Keith woke up to a normal day. It was a slow, pleasant Sunday morning and he took his time getting ready for a day of nothing. He had nowhere to be, and nothing to do. And, he had no idea how much his world might change within the next few hours.
He was a single man with a successful career and a small apartment. Keith considered himself intelligent and quick-witted. If he had known ahead of time, he might have played down the unexpected situation as just another one in a long line of new developments. The world was no longer the one he grew up in. He felt things had changed for the better overall, and he knew he wasn't the only one.
His morning progressed as uneventfully as he hoped. And as noon approached, he found himself seated on the couch watching TV. Well, the TV was on and he was facing it, but his attention was focused on the node in his hands. Two years ago, the transparent glass card was beyond bleeding-edge technology.
It was the first sign of things changing, and by now, the tech was ubiquitous and necessary for modern life. It was no longer a mystical, magical device and instead just an advanced telephone. He'd noticed that happening to other things too. Technologies now existed that he used to marvel at the concept of as a kid, and now, what used to be science fiction was integrated into his daily life as unspecial as the breakfast he had.
He didn't have any complaints about his current life; but, he'd all but forgotten the magic he believed in during his youth. There was no room for it anymore. Unknown to him, he was about to experience a world-changing event; although, maybe, he'd have a chance to rediscover that magic.
As Keith watched TV, the clock chimed to acknowledge noon. The fighting ninjas vanished, and the text he was scrolling also disappeared from his node. Both devices showed a smooth white background and only a single figure existed the frame. It was a faceless, golden mannequin wearing a crimson silk suit.
“Hello,” he said calmly. Keith was unsettled by the figure's voice speaking without any mouth moving, he still hadn't gotten used to it. “I have an announcement.”
Keith was hoping to stay on the couch until the evening, it promised to be a fulfilling day all things considered. And, he wasn't ready have his life flipped upside down.
“Today's winner has been chosen. Keith Dane, congratulations!”. The red suited figure on his node pointed directly at Keith, but that was the only version. The version on his TV was still applauding for Keith.
“Me??” he asked.
“Yeah, you,” the one on his node said while the TV one continued with some other housekeeping telling the world to tune in tomorrow, as if they had a choice. Helios, the host figure, preferred to work on his own schedule. The governments of Earth had tried scheduling time for Helios’ lottery, but he never stuck to it. For him it was quicker and easier to take over all media.
“You've just won a direct line to Sharp Development. Anything you want is yours.”
“Does it expire?” Keith asked. ‘Anything’ covered a lot of ground and he never considered he'd win.
“Not at all,” Helios shook his head. “We at Sharp Development understand the weight of this decision. You could even choose your own Earth from the millions Sharp Development serves to live on, if you wanted; that’s not something to be rushed into. If you’d like some more time, just call for me whenever you’re ready,” Helios gave a full, mid-waist bow. He’d dipped so low that his gold metal head was heard scraping the non-existent floor of the white void. Then, he disintegrated into nothing and the original site Keith was browsing was front and center on his node again. He sighed, and resumed scrolling down.
As far as he was concerned, Keith pretty much already had everything he wanted in life. Most of the rest of the world might have been thrilled at being offered anything they want; but, it mostly left Keith unsure what to ask for. It was a lot of thinking that he had to do, and he wanted to do exactly zero of it that Sunday.
“Yeah…,” he chuckled privately as if confirming his thoughts to himself. “...that’s gonna be a chore. I’ll deal with it later…,” he said. “...I already have plans today,” he added as he set his node down and stretched out on the couch readying himself for a short afternoon nap.
