project-do-over

[project-do-over]

Bookwyrm1982 is available

Bookwyrm1982: hey. gm.

Violet_M00n: Morning, sleep well?

Bookwyrm1982: :I

Bookwyrm1982: so-so

Bookwyrm1982: You know how we rarely remember our dreams, right?

Violet_M00n: Yeah, though we do learn some tricks to help with that.

Bookwyrm1982: right. Well I don't remember what I dreamt last night, but I woke up feeling...

Bookwyrm1982: idk. Weird. Like something was missing that I really want back but I have no idea what it is.

Bookwyrm1982: does that make sense?

Violet_M00n: Absolutely hun. I know that feeling very well.

Violet_M00n: It goes away though. When we, well...

Bookwyrm1982: become a girl?

Violet_M00n: Well we were never not a girl to begin with, but yeah, that's part of it.

Bookwyrm1982: what else?

Violet_M00n: Well, in addition to being trans, we're pansexual, and polygamous. We're also into kink though you might be a bit young for that.

Violet_M00n: We're also a furry, and gender fluid. I don't know if all those terms exist already but you can probably work it out.

Violet_M00n: or just ask me.

Bookwyrm1982: yeah. That just seems so... not like me.

Violet_M00n: is it how you'd like to be?

Bookwyrm1982: maybe. idk.

Violet_M00n: Well there's no reason to rush, hun. You have all the time in the world.

Bookwyrm1982: Yeah... I should probably go get some breakfast.

Violet_M00n: Food helps. See you after school then?

Bookwyrm1982: Saturday, no school.

Bookwyrm1982: I'll be here. We can talk.

Bookwyrm1982: if you have time, of course.

Bookwyrm1982: wait...

Bookwyrm1982: I realized it as soon as I said it.

Bookwyrm1982: but yeah no pressure.

Violet_M00n: I'm always happy to help, and who better to listen to you, right?

Bookwyrm1982: yeah. You are easy to talk to.

Violet_M00n: helps when we know each other this well.

Bookwyrm1982: cya

Violet_M00n: hb! (is that right? Internet slang has come a long way...)

Bookwyrm1982 is away

[project-do-over]

Making friends :,)

[project-do-over]

I just sorta wanted to make these. Context: Judging stories / episodes / etc.

Based on this original post.

[project-do-over]

Violet_M00n is available

Violet_M00n: Heyyy sorry for the delay! Got caught up with work stuff...

Bookwyrm1982: literally no time has passed.

Violet_M00n: Right. Right. Habit, I guess.

Violet_M00n: Anyway, what else did you want to know about the future?

Bookwyrm1982: Well you said you had AI, right?

Violet_M00n: Well... Yes and no. We have programs people *call* "AI", but they're really just advanced machine learning. They can't actually think or anything, but they can put together a surprisingly human sounding sentence, and draw things that could at first be mistaken for art.

Violet_M00n: But of course it's awful. The results are full of factual errors or have way, way too many fingers, companies are trying to use it to replace creatives, and it burns a ton of energy doing essential nothing of value.

Violet_M00n: So could you go on ChatGPT and talk to a convincing facsimile of a human but underneath it's just a more advanced version of Dr. SBAITSO.

Bookwyrm1982: that's a shame. But then again at least you don't have to worry about them taking over the world, right?

Violet_M00n: Luna, at this point I'd welcome our robot overlords. Better than the fucks we have running things these days.

Bookwyrm1982: Are things that bad?

Violet_M00n: *sighs* no, I suppose not. I still have a job, a family, I can exist in public without fearing persecution, and I'm mostly free to do as I please.

Violet_M00n: But trust me when I say the people who very much want to take that away have much more power than feels comfortable.

Bookwyrm1982: that sounds scary though.

Violet_M00n: More enraging than scary, really. Just so many people who can't or don't want to see things from anyone's point of view from their own.

Violet_M00n: Well, that, and capitalism.

Bookwyrm1982: I thought capitalism was good though?

Violet_M00n: *sigh* we have so much to learn.

Violet_M00n: Honestly though, and you should be able to find these online if not in the library, but read some Marx.

Violet_M00n: It may not resonate a lot yet, but it will.

Bookwyrm1982: I always thought that Communism was a good idea in theory but it needed a global revolution to actually work.

Violet_M00n: You may be on to something there. And someday, hopefully in our lifetime, we may get there. But it's a long, long road. Especially here in America, where it's been used as a boogeyman for like 80 years now.

Violet_M00n: (55 for you)

Bookwyrm1982: Wow, that's.... I'm not sure I want to grow up now.

Violet_M00n: Well maybe your timeline will invent actual time travel and you can keep that wish. Luna knows I wish I could.

Bookwyrm1982: so

Bookwyrm1982: um

Bookwyrm1982: Can we talk about something more fun? Like, what's something good in your time?

Violet_M00n: Well Magic the Gathering is still pretty good.

Bookwyrm1982: We're still playing? I kinda lost interest and stopped following it a year or two ago.

Violet_M00n: Oh yeah, we're still playing, and the game is... Well, it's way different from your time but also at its heart the same.

Violet_M00n: Like it's still Magic but also there's D&D and cowboys and Gandalf, for some reason. It's cool but it's also kinda scary how much they're pumping out.

Bookwyrm1982: Oh that sounds cool! Is it just D&D and LOTR?

Violet_M00n: They've done a ton of crossovers, they call them "Universes Beyond". They've done, let's see...

Violet_M00n: Dr. Who, Warhammer, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, they're doing Marvel soon, Transformers (those are Hasbro though so they were among the first), The Walking Dead, Fortnite, Stranger Things (you... Don't know about those yet, don't worry), um, lots more stuff too that I'm forgetting, but those are mostly in like five or ten card bundles.

Violet_M00n: Unlike LotR which was a full set, with boosters and everything. And the best selling set of Magic in all time, unless Bloomburrow has passed that already.

Bookwyrm1982: Really cool! You'll have to send me some pictures sometime!

Violet_M00n: I'll be sure to downscale them appropriately this time!

Bookwyrm1982: What else do we like? Is Star Trek still running?

Violet_M00n: It had a long break there where it seemed we weren't going to get any more Star Trek.

Violet_M00n: But then JJ Abrams (a director/producer of some renown) made a Star Trek movie that was meh, but good enough to get people interest in the franchise again.

Violet_M00n: Soon after that Paramount spun up Star Trek Discovery, which had a rocky start but Grew The Beard soon enough for them to greenlight Star Trek Picard. Then Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Academy, and probably one or two others I'm forgetting (not to forget Short Treks and Very Short Treks).

Violet_M00n: Prodigy! I forgot Prodigy!

Bookwyrm1982: The online service?

Violet_M00n: No, Star Trek Prodigy. It's a CG animated series for kids made by Nickelodeon.

Bookwyrm1982: You're making that up.

Violet_M00n: I swear, it's true. Lower Decks is animated too, but 2D, and it's for adults and probably the best thing Star Trek has ever created. It's hilarious!

Violet_M00n: SNW follows Captain Pike on the 1701

Bookwyrm1982: And Discovery?

Violet_M00n: Complicated! It starts out pre-TOS but... Spoilers! And Picard is... Also here!

Bookwyrm1982: Is that about young Picard or something?

Violet_M00n: Old Picard, but close.

Bookwyrm1982: Hey my mom... our mom... just told me to get off the computer so

Bookwyrm1982: ttys!

Violet_M00n: See you in literally no time at all!

Bookwyrm1982 is away

[project-do-over]

Bookwyrm1982 is available

Bookwyrm1982: hey

Violet_M00n: Hey buddy! How's things?

Bookwyrm1982: they're good. Can I ask you something?

Violet_M00n: Anything at all, what is it you want to know?

Bookwyrm1982: can you tell me more about the future? You mentioned a pandemic...

Violet_M00n: Ah, I was wondering when you'd bring that up. Yeah it was a disease knows as Covid-19, which spread massively across the world in 2020.

Violet_M00n: The whole world went into lockdown, economies shut down, people were told to stay indoors. It was a mess until they developed the vaccine a year later.

Violet_M00n: Hundreds of thousands of people died, which is what you'd expect. But there were also things you didn't expect.

Bookwyrm1982: like what?

Violet_M00n: like how people went wild panic-buying toilet paper. (make a note to yourself to stock up in 2019)

Bookwyrm1982: oh did the disease cause diarrhea or something?

Violet_M00n: Not at all, it was an upper respiratory illness. IS a respiratory illness, it's still around even though people don't act like it.

Bookwyrm1982: oh. Then why did they buy toilet paper?

Violet_M00n: who knows, probably some viral post or something convinced people it would run out, and then the news started reporting it which made more people panic buy it...

Bookwyrm1982: The virus spread through the mail?

Violet_M00n: What? No, why would you think that?

Violet_M00n: OH, right. Viral post. That just means it got spread around LIKE a virus. Not that it actually was one.

Bookwyrm1982: that sounds confusing

Violet_M00n: Language frequently is.

Bookwyrm1982: so what else was weird?

Violet_M00n: Culture kinda shifted massively. No one could leave their homes, so people started taking up hobbies. Like baking sourdough bread, or learning magic, or whatever.

Violet_M00n: A lot of us were saved thanks to the new Animal Crossing game. And massive online games like Among Us and Fall Guys became super popular.

Violet_M00n: Everyone learned quickly how to video chat. Zoom, the name of one of the platforms, became a household name.

Violet_M00n: People, mostly conservatives, started protesting having to wear masks and not being able to get haircuts.

Violet_M00n: And our government pretty much abandoned us all, trying to pretend the pandemic wasn't happening.

Bookwyrm1982: that sounds awful :(

Violet_M00n: Oh, it was. But there was good in it too. For example our partner and I got to grow really close because of it. And we gave up caffeine.

Bookwyrm1982: really? Why?

Violet_M00n: Seemed as good a time as any. Didn't really ever have to be up at a certain time, could nap if I needed to.

Violet_M00n: And now I don't need to worry Bout getting headaches if I can't find coffee, or falling asleep in the afternoon from the caffeine crash.

Bookwyrm1982: bit don't you miss coffee?

Violet_M00n: Yeah, a little. But now I can focus on coffee I actually like, rather than taking whatever I can get. It's freeing. And decaf isn't really all that bad, if you get the good stuff.

Bookwyrm1982: I couldn't even imagine.

Violet_M00n: I know, but there's a lot of stuff we could never imagine.

Bookwyrm1982: like you being a girl?

Violet_M00n: US being a girl, but yes, that's one.

Bookwyrm1982: I don't see how I could ever be brave enough to dress like a girl in public.

Bookwyrm1982: I just know everyone would stare at me, or make fun of me.

Violet_M00n: A lot of that is social anxiety talking. A lot of it is, sadly, true in your time too. People still use gay as an insult, after all.

Bookwyrm1982: I don't.

Violet_M00n: You do, and I don't hold it against you. You're just fitting in.

Bookwyrm1982: :( sorry

Violet_M00n: It's all good, don't worry.

Violet_M00n: Eventually we get experienced enough with the world that we stop caring so much what other people think, at start living life for ourselves.

Bookwyrm1982: I don't think I could ever do that.

Violet_M00n: You will. You could now, if you tried. Taking the first step will often show you just how much easier the road is than you think. And then it's just one more step, and another, and before you know it you're living life happily, more so than you could ever imagine.

Violet_M00n: But think about it for a sec. Wearing a pretty dress instead of whatever sweatshirt you grab from your dresser first.

Violet_M00n: Imagine hanging out with your girl friends without it being weird or you being the exception.

Violet_M00n: Imagine... Girl's PE class.

Bookwyrm1982: ...that does sound kind of nice

Bookwyrm1982: I've always envied girls for being able to wear so many different things, have so many different looks. While guys just have the default.

Violet_M00n: I know ^^ you'll get there.

Bookwyrm1982: ^^?

Violet_M00n: It's a smiley face. The carats are eyes. It's more Japanese style.

Bookwyrm1982: oic. Do people speak Japanese in the future?

Violet_M00n: No, but we get way more into anime as we get older.

Bookwyrm1982: ugh, japanimation looks so weird though, and everyone is always screaming.

Violet_M00n: heh, it's cultural. You'll start to understand it more, someday.

Violet_M00n: That being said, if you wanted to jump in on the trend now, it would be really cool if we didn't miss the Sailor Moon boat in your timeline. It feels like a cultural touchstone that we really missed out on.

Violet_M00n: You should give it a try. That and Cardcaptor Sakura.

Violet_M00n: And Ranma 1/2

Bookwyrm1982: Oh yeah, that guy from camp was telling me about that.

Violet_M00n: I know :3 you should really check it out.

Bookwyrm1982: is that a kitty face?

Violet_M00n: Yep! I'm sure that exists in your time though.

Bookwyrm1982: maybe. I don't think I've seen it.

Violet_M00n: I'm gonna have to get back to work, so pardon me if I don't respond right away.

Violet_M00n:... Which I'm just now realizing doesn't happen thanks to the time-skipping the client does. Oh well, still seems polite to say.

Bookwyrm1982: np, I'll talk to you soon.

Violet_M00n: or just keep talking now, I'll reply as soon as you do remember?

Bookwyrm1982: right. Time travel is weird.

Violet_M00n: you're telling me!

Violet_M00n is away

[project-do-over]

Bookwyrm1982 has logged in

Bookwyrm1982: Hi :)

Violet_M00n: Hello again 💜

Bookwyrm1982: what's that?

Violet_M00n: huh?

Bookwyrm1982: after your message there's like an empty box, what does that mean?

Violet_M00n: Oh, sorry, that's an emoji. It's like a little picture you can send, like an emoticon.

Violet_M00n: I think they technically exist already but they're really only in Japan.

Bookwyrm1982: oic

Violet_M00n: so... Did you have any questions for me?

Bookwyrm1982: yeah, lots. Is it okay if I ask them now?

Violet_M00n: of course, fire away!

Bookwyrm1982: OK, well, first of all, how does time work for you?

Violet_M00n: :')

Violet_M00n: I tell you we're a girl now and that's your first question?

Bookwyrm1982: Is that OK?

Violet_M00n: yeah of course, and I really shouldn't have been surprised, but lol!

Violet_M00n: The short answer is, I'm not entirely sure. I just downloaded this app that promised to let you talk to your past self, the actual mechanics are proprietary.

Violet_M00n: To be honest, I just assumed it was going to be an AI I would talk to.

Violet_M00n: But you seem to know things that no AI could know. So I guess I actually am talking to my past self?

Violet_M00n: From what I can gather by googling, it looks like the company was set up in 1985 and has been working on this tech ever since.

It involves quantum entangled particles, and the reason you can only go back as far as 1985 or so is because that's when the "reference block" was first set up.

Bookwyrm1982: oic. I really meant more, is an hour for me an hour for you?

Violet_M00n: Pretty much, except I think the chat client can skip forward when chat is idle.

Violet_M00n: so like, if I log in it will jump ahead to the next time you log on too, even if it's days or even years after the last one, without me having to wait.

Violet_M00n: I think it works the other way around too.

Bookwyrm1982: interesting. The app I'm using is ICQ, is that the same for you?

Violet_M00n: actually it's just one program that links into MSN and AIM and a bunch of other apps too. I just picked ICQ mostly for nostalgia's sake. And because I still remembered my ICQ number heh.

Bookwyrm1982: oic. Interesting.

Violet_M00n: Do you have any other questions? Maybe something about *gestures vaguely at me being a woman now*

Bookwyrm1982: I mean, I do, but... I'm not quite ready yet.

Violet_M00n: that's okay, I understand. It's a lot to take in all at once. We can talk about something else if you want. What do you want to know about the future?

Bookwyrm1982: Do we have flying cars?

Violet_M00n: lol no! You can't trust most drivers in a two dimensional plane, you really want to add altitude to that? Haha!

Violet_M00n: We do have self-driving cars though, at least they're being developed.

Violet_M00n: We live in the Bay Area now so we sometimes see them on test drives, but you can't buy them or anything.

Bookwyrm1982: We live in San Francisco!?

Violet_M00n: Well, South Bay, but yes. We moved here four years ago. Just before the pandemic.

Bookwyrm1982:... There was a pandemic? The future sounds awful.

Violet_M00n: yeah, it could be better. But some things are better. For one, LGBTQ+ people are less discriminated against. Though the fight is still ongoing.

Bookwyrm1982: What's that, like a club?

Violet_M00n: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, etc.

Violet_M00n: What we are, basically.

Bookwyrm1982: I don't think I'm gay...

Violet_M00n: You learn a lot of things about yourself. But most importantly, you learn being gay is okay actually. I fsct, it's pretty dang awesome. You should really think about it.

Violet_M00n: Although by "gay" you'd technically be saying you're into women, which you already know.

Violet_M00n: But men can actually be okay too, you really should give them a try.

Bookwyrm1982: Thanks, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. And besides, I can't even ask a girl out, could you imagine trying to ask out a guy?

Violet_M00n:... I'm picturing it now. It's adorable.

Bookwyrm1982: *blush*

Bookwyrm1982: Sorry, dinner time again. Can we talk later?

Violet_M00n: I'll be here. Literally any time you want.

Bookwyrm1982: Thanks. Cya!

Violet_M00n: toodles!

[project-do-over]

Bookwyrm1982 has logged in

Bookwyrm1982: Hello? Are you still there?

Violet_M00n: Yup. What's up?

Bookwyrm1982: Are you really from the future?

Violet_M00n: Pretty much.

Bookwyrm1982: So this has already happened for you?

Violet_M00n: Not quite, it's kinda complicated but basically we're in two different timelines. I'm in the one where I didn't hear from my future self, you are... not.

Bookwyrm1982: I see.

Bookwyrm1982: So can you still predict things?

Violet_M00n: To a point. Anything you directly or indirectly affect could end up different, and random processes like, say, picking lottery numbers might not work 100%.

Violet_M00n: But big picture stuff, absolutely.

Violet_M00n: ... You want to know about HER, don't you.

Bookwyrm1982: Just tell me if I ever work up the nerve to say something?

Violet_M00n: ... Are you sure you want to know? Because once you do, you can't come back from it. Especially if you don't like the answer.

Bookwyrm1982: Please. Just tell me. I promise I won't get mad.

Violet_M00n: Okay. So. Sit down for this. Which you already are because you have to be at a desktop in 1999, right.

Violet_M00n: The short answer is no, you and her never get together.

Bookwyrm1982: oh.

Violet_M00n: The long answer is, you learn pretty quickly that it's a good thing you don't.

Violet_M00n: You see the person you are in love with isn't actually who you think she is.

Bookwyrm1982: Well, OK, but still...

Violet_M00n: The actual girl isn't very nice, at least not to you. She's not the perfect being you make her out to be.

Violet_M00n: For one thing, she smokes.

Bookwyrm1982: what?

Violet_M00n: $! Yeah and like, nothing against smokers. I know where you're at it's hard not to feel like smoking is an absolute sin, and it's not. Not really.

Violet_M00n: Heck, we even pick up the habit for a while. And then drop it because it's gross.

Bookwyrm1982: I don't believe you.

Violet_M00n: Yes you do. Because you're afraid it's true and you're already doing the math in your head to see if it lines up.

Violet_M00n: And it does. And it will sink in. And you'll be free of her.

Violet_M00n: But you see, there is something to be salvaged from this.

Violet_M00n: Let me ask you a question: who do you see her as?

Bookwyrm1982: I don't know... She's smart... kind... funny. She has a beautiful smile, and she's so pretty...

Bookwyrm1982: She's just... Everything I want in a girl.

Violet_M00n: Everything you want... as a girl?

Bookwyrm1982: No, *in* a girl.

Violet_M00n: But if you, hypothetically speaking, were to be a girl, she'd be pretty much who you want to be?

Bookwyrm1982: I mean, I guess so?

Violet_M00n: I'm gonna send you something real quick. It's just a selfie, no dick pic, I promise.

Bookwyrm1982: Lol even if you did it wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before, right?

Violet_M00n: Well, you say that...

Bookwyrm1982:... I'm afraid to ask.

Violet_M00n: All will become clear. Soon enough.

Violet_M00n is sending a file 2957w7wj4942p.jpg (0kb of 3,126kb)

Bookwyrm1982: Um. That's going to take a while to download...

Violet_M00n: Oh right... Fucking dial up, I forgot.

Give me a few minutes, let me downscale it...

Violet_M00n: There we go. Sorry that took a minute, had to find a good way to do it.

Violet_M00n: I compressed it just to be safe

Violet_M00n is sending a file (selfie.zip) (0kb of 154kb)

Violet_M00n: There you go. It's just a selfie.

Bookwyrm1982: what's a selfie?

Violet_M00n: ... Yeah there's gonna be a lot of words I use that you won't get, huh? It's amazing how much language can change in a quarter century.

Violet_M00n: It's a picture I took of myself. Self-ie.

File downloaded

Bookwyrm1982: Okay, it finished. Unpacking it now.

Bookwyrm1982: I think you sent the wrong picture though.

Violet_M00n: Oh? Why do you think that? ^v^

Bookwyrm1982: I think you sent us a picture of our sister. It's a picture of a girl.

Violet_M00n: Oh? Is that so? Maybe you need to look a little... closer...

Violet_M00n is grinning like a little shit

Bookwyrm1982: I mean she kind of looks like me but.

Bookwyrm1982: wait.

Violet_M00n: uh huh?

Bookwyrm1982: Is this... For Halloween? For a play?

Violet_M00n: Nope, and nope.

Bookwyrm1982: But. Wait. I don't understand.

Violet_M00n: I think you do. But in case not, let me make this clear.

Violet_M00n: This isn't a trick. It's not a prank. This is me. Us.

Violet_M00n: You.

Bookwyrm1982: Sorry I g2g. Mom just rang the bell for dinner.

Violet_M00n: Just think about it, okay? I'll be here to answer any questions you might have.

Bookwyrm1982: cya

Bookwyrm1982 has logged off (unavailable)

[project-do-over]

Violet_M00n: Hi! Happy birthday!

Bookwyrm1982: Thanks!

Bookwyrm1982: Do I know you?

Violet_M00n: um, well, kinda?

Violet_M00n: You won't believe me though, at least not at first.

Bookwyrm1982: No? Try me.

Violet_M00n: Hmm well let's see... What year is it for you?

Bookwyrm1982: Um, 1999, of course? Why, what year is it for you?

Violet_M00n: For me it's 2024.

Violet_M00n: And before you ask (because I know you will), that's CE. Or AD, if you prefer, but we don't.

Bookwyrm1982: Oh are we role playing?

Bookwyrm1982: a/s/l?

Violet_M00n: Wow I forgot how long ago 1999 was.

Violet_M00n: I'm from the future.

Bookwyrm1982: lol okay.

Violet_M00n: I mean it! Ask me anything about the future!

Bookwyrm1982: Okay, who's the president.

Violet_M00n: Oh I am so glad I didn't try to contact you a few years ago. Joe Biden. Look him up, I think he's a senator right now in your time line?

Bookwyrm1982:... I'm not sure how I thought that would help me. I need to ask something I can verify.

Violet_M00n: yeah there's the rub, huh? You'll just have to trust me, I guess.

Bookwyrm1982: And why should I do that? How do I know this isn't some kind of scam?

Violet_M00n: You can trust me because I'm you.

Bookwyrm1982: Well of course you are. And that's why it'll be totally fine for me to give you all my personal details, right?

Violet_M00n: Well, I didn't want to have to pull this card but... Remember a few years back, you threw a glass of lemonade on a girl while playing with water guns outside?

Bookwyrm1982:???

Violet_M00n: I know lots of people know about that, and how you just thought it would be like throwing water, you didn't realize how sticky it would get, right?

Violet_M00n: Okay but, how many people know that the reason you did it was because she reminded you of the sister of your biggest crush? And how that little tenuous link made you have a tiny crush on her, and that's why you weren't thinking properly.

Bookwyrm1982: :-o

Bookwyrm1982: who are you?

Violet_M00n: I told you, I'm you. Or at least the you that would have existed had you continued down the original quantum timestream you were in before I contacted you. Technically you're someone else now, so you don't have to worry about altering the timeline. Anything you do is confined to your own timeline. But, you know, I still know a lot about you and your time. And I want to help.

Bookwyrm1982: help how?

Violet_M00n: Oh sweet summer child, you have no idea.

Bookwyrm1982: I'm not a child, I'm 17!

Violet_M00n: No that's a quote from.... You know what, you're probably just gonna have to put up with me making pop culture references without remembering whether they existed in your time or not.

Bookwyrm1982: Okay you're funny and I love this bit but I really should get started on my homework...

Violet_M00n: You say as I already see you pulling up your games menu to decide what to play next.

Bookwyrm1982: Goodbye now.

Violet_M00n: sure, think it over some. I'll be here if you want to talk future stuff.

Bookwyrm1982 has set status to: Away... In the final frontier