Survivors
From :
"Adrienne McClintock"
To :
Drew Mathers, Neil Lane, beckett_grey, Heather Rice a.k.a. wolverbunny69, marahsk, avt_tor, Chris Catt a.k.a. Dengar
Subject :
one more story
Date :
Sat, 05 Apr 2003 15:01:27 -0600
Twilight Tales is having a juried critique session, and I was having
trouble coming up with what i was going to write for the
science-fiction/ fantasy session. So I went back to a really old
formula, picking on people I know, and went back to a story I wrote way
back in high school. That one basically involved Oak Park getting
flooded, and me trying to rescue my cousin in California, who'd been
through an earthquake, with his dog helping me to rescue him. We ended
up in Switzerland, and well... I'd rather not give away the whole story
here!
My middle name is Lisa. Everyone else in the story is real-ish, with a
real-ish description. Chris, you're not real. You can go back to being
a figment of my demented imagination. ;)
This story is inspired by a April 14 deadline, remembering an old
story, the first few chapters of Rob Sawyer's "Flashforward", which I
had to put down, lest I copy him too much. Add in 600mg of ibuporofen
(for heel pain... and leg... and back... doctor prescribed this time!)
with a veggie pizza for dinner, and too much coffee making me have weird
dreams at 3am... and of course, too many cons, and too many trips to
Toronto. No wait, too much of a good thing, is that possible? :)
I'll probably continue to edit this here and there, but I'd like to
know what you think. Suggestions of "take two anime and call me at
midnight" and "lay off the pizza before bed" may not be followed!!! ;)
*hugz*
--Adrienne
Survivors
12 pages long
Contains 2670 words
Drew paused in his backrub, and leaned over in the seat, gently turning his wife’s face to him. He kissed her gently with his thin, pale lips, ruffling her long brown ponytail with his gentle hands.
“I thought you’d rather look at me, than at your former workplace,” he told Lisa.
“Well, of course, dear,” Lisa replied, smiling back at Drew, kissing his lips, then his long, bald forehead. “I can’t see much in this weather anyway. But I see Chicago from this angle so rarely, and I was trying to get a look at the West Building of McCormick Place. I moved in with you before they built it, remember?”
“Is that where you, Uncle Andy, and Grandpa used to work, Mom?” asked Lisa’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Lojen, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement, her face in a dimpled smile. They were taking her along for a late birthday trip, to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
“Yep, before Drew and I struck it rich, got married, and I moved to Toronto,” Lisa told her daughter. Lisa’s chestnut eyes looked into Drew’s, and she squeezed his hand.
“Blinked and you missed it,” said Gayle Lathrop, the pilot, as the plane descended onto Meig’s Field. Lisa had spent several years working at McCormick Place, watching the planes take off and land. She had always wanted to fly in to that airport, and thought her dreams were crushed when Mayor Daley had destroyed the airport, as an “early April Fool’s joke” in 2003. A few years later, when Mayor Ian Bernard was elected, the airport was rebuilt, and had received the nickname, “Daley’s Folly”.
“I’m glad you’re such a good pilot, Auntie,” said Lisa. “I doubt many people could’ve landed on such a small runway in this rain.”
“I’m surprised they let me land at all,” Gayle told them, brushing her black hair from her pale blue eyes, and readjusting her microphone. “Thank God we didn’t have to fly to Peotone!”
Neil and Janice Lane had been waiting at the Meig’s Field airport to pick up their old friends. Neil and Janice had married shortly after graduating from University of Chicago, and Janice had originally been jealous of Neil’s old friends. Neil and Lisa had been to high school together. Lisa had tried to help Neil win a Student Government position, and Neil had lost. So they were not at all surprised when the former Student Government leader, Ian Bernard, decided to challenge the Daley family’s reign of power. They were, however, very surprised when he won the election. Another Chicagoan, Carol Mosely-Braun, was now the President of the United States, easily beating King George II in the 2004 elections. Mosely-Braun was up for a second term in November, about two months from present.
###
It was a short drive from the downtown airport to the downtown Hyatt on Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue. Lisa knew, when she first met Drew at this very hotel nine years ago, that they would indeed return here for another World Science Fiction convention. She knew by the end of that weekend that she was very much in love with the Canadian. She just didn’t expect to be rich, and very happily married to him nine years later. Drew had finally proposed to her, not at the 2003 Worldcon in Toronto, as Lisa had hoped he would, but the day Lisa’s first book had finally been published by her own company, in 2007. Now that same book, “Thunder and Darkness”, was up for Lisa’s first Hugo award. Lisa’s friend, Jon Titchenal, eleven years her junior, whom she had known from his high school days with Chris, had been kind. Jon only released horror stories that year, rather than possibly receiving his third Hugo in Lisa’s hometown. Lisa had learned that much, at least, from Robert J. Sawyer. Hold off on publishing, if you can go for a Hugo in your hometown!
###
The party that night was on the sixteenth floor of the downtown Chicago Hyatt, overlooking what one could see of the lakefront, and Navy Pier. All of Lisa and Drew’s friends were there, from Chicago and Toronto. Jon and his wife had come from Milwaukee. Chris and Zoe had flown in from the Portland area. Blasted Bill Putt and his girlfriend, Karen, had flown in from Phoenix with Lisa’s long-time friend Heather Rice, and her five-year-old son, Tristan Joseph Rice. Heather was, of course, wondering if she could set up Lojen and Tristan as a cute little couple, but it seemed Lojen would rather play with seven year old Ian Tan, whom she sometimes babysat in Toronto.
“Damn, that rain hasn’t stopped yet!” said Lisa, staring out the window.
“I had the TV on in the other room,” said Chris in his serious voice, the one he also used when making a serious joke. “Mount St. Helen’s has erupted. It’s spewing dust as far as northern California.”
“Are you serious?” Lisa asked, trying to get around Chris’ large Samoan-like figure, and pushing her way through the crowd to get to the other room. Sure enough, the CNN news was reporting the tragedy, as well as reporting the heavy rains in the Midwest, which were expected to move northeast within five days, towards Toronto, as Lisa well knew.
“ I probably shouldn’t go back to Portland, with my asthma being as bad as it is,” Chris told her. He adjusted his thick glasses on his face, and Zoe came to his side.
“You’ve got bad asthma?” Heather asked, huffing as she brought in a plate of food for the guests. “Let’s see your meds,” she challenged, as they went into the other room to talk about drugs.
“Lisa,” began Neil. “Remember when we were in high school, and they let us out early, because the Des Plaines River was flooding?”
“Of course I remember!” said Lisa. “I still have the photos. The water came as high as the bottom of the stop lights.” Lisa took the remote, changing the channel to WGN. “You looked so nerdy with those old glasses, and that silly haircut.” Lisa reached out, and mussed Neil’s hair.
“Yeah, yeah… That was my mom’s idea! Thank God Janice met me AFTER that!” Neil ran his hands through his ruffled hair. “Someone just came up here, saying they need help with a sandbagging effort in the suburbs.”
Lisa watched the TV screen, as Lojen came into the room to look over her shoulder. Lojen let out a gasp, putting her hands to her eyes.
“Ooh, I can’t look!” she cried, putting her hands down to peek. “Mom, that’s out in Naperville, where Grandma and Grandpa live!”
“Is this some kind of ‘War of the Worlds’ thing, where the whole world gets destroyed on TV?” asked Jon, adjusting his signature floppy gray hat.
“That was on the old Twilight Zone,” said Lisa. “The 1980’s one, not the Forrest Whitaker one, and not classic Rod Serling either.”
“No, I saw this before. It was an Outer Limits episode,” Jon said with a nod, his long, blond ponytail flopping against his gray trench coat.
“No, I’m pretty sure it was some anime,” said Chris.
Lisa giggled, bopping both of them playfully on the head. “Shut up!” she said, as everyone grabbed pillows, and joined in the fight.
“No, this is serious,” said Drew, looking up a Canadian news site on his laptop. Everyone looked over his shoulder. Lisa turned down the volume on the TV so everyone could listen closely to the computer.
“… the Bloor Street viaduct. As you can see behind me, the Don Valley Parkway has been closed, and cars have been stranded in the flash flood. We take you now, to our correspondent in the CN Tower, to give you a view of the downtown Toronto area.”
Lisa and Lojen gasped as they saw the pictures. Drew put his arm around his wife, and drew her near, trying not to shake.
“We’re looking down now, through the glass floor of the CN Tower, looking at a Very Painful sight, the Almost-Painless Computing Dome. As you can see, the Dome had been closed to keep out the severe weather, but it has collapsed under the pressure of all the heavy rains and wind. In fact, I can feel the Tower swaying in the wind right now, and I’m trying to keep from shaking in my shoes. As soon as I come down, the CN Tower will be closed to the public, and cleaning crews will be moving into the area as soon as it is declared safe to do so.
“As I look out the window to the southwest, you can see that Lake Shore Boulevard has been flooded out, and the exits onto the Gardiner Expressway have been closed. Although it’s difficult to see it from here, through all the wind and rain, I’ve been told that there is very little left of the Toronto Islands. The Island Airport was being used to evacuate people from the islands, and the ferryboat service has been carrying people and their belongings off of the Islands, into the safety of the city.
“We’ll continue to report on this tragedy, and others occurring throughout North America. We take you now, to the Seattle area, where Mount Saint Helen’s has been spewing dust clouds…”
Lisa, Chris, Zoe, Alex, and Marah all remembered what Seattle had looked like during the NASFiC convention in 2005. Lisa had worked to have the convention in the city, thinking it to be beautiful the last time she went. She thought it odd that while she had been to Seattle in 1993, Alex and Marah were only doing the bid because they liked the convention committee, and had only wished to visit someday. The convention turned out to be everything they had hoped for, and more. Chris knew that moving across the country would never stop him from going to cons with Lisa, and they were both right in knowing that. Now, everything they had once remembered and enjoyed was covered with a layer of dust… or water.
“We return you now to our reporter, outside the Almost-Painless Dome,” the reporter on the screen said, as the TV crew focused on the remains of the hockey fan statues from the grounds by the northeast side of the Dome.
“Well, I guess I’ll never be working there again,” Lisa told Drew, referring to the old Toronto SkyDome. Lisa had originally come to Canada through a job transfer, but things had changed drastically a few years later. Drew had been several thousand dollars in credit card debt when Lisa put him in touch with an unusual client. It was a scientist who had done work on the Human Genome Project. A doctor had said that DNA could be coded, and the information burned onto a CD-ROM disk. But after the failed experiments with Dolly the sheep, everyone knew that DNA was flawed. Lisa had the brilliant idea of comparing human DNA to computer coding.
“Human DNA has a complex sequence of codes, just like the average computer program,” Lisa told Drew. “It’s your job to fix corrupted computer files. Do you think it’s possible for you to correct corrupted DNA the same way you fix corrupted files?”
At first, Drew was intrigued, but wasn’t sure how it was possible. But after the scientist gave Drew a few samples to test, Drew found it was far easier than he had ever imagined. He found a complex form of bit mapping to be similar to studying genes, and had even come up with possible links to genetic diseases. Through Drew’s studies, Lisa’s family had finally broken the chain of Alzheimer’s Disease, and Drew had been nominated for several scientific prizes. Though he did not win any of them, his company, Almost-Painless Computing, had raked in millions of dollars, enough to put his company name on the Toronto SkyDome, and beat out the bid put in by Rogers Cable that same year.
It was enough to buy a fancy home on the Bridal Path leading to Edwards Gardens, fund Lisa’s publishing company, and have Lisa’s aunt, Gayle Lathrop, fly their private plane all over the world. Drew had been embarrassed to marry Lisa before, knowing he was broke and still living in his parent’s basement, but after this discovery, he had moved Lisa and her daughter to Toronto with him. Drew was proud to have, as he put it, “the balls of the world’s tallest phallic symbol”, with his company’s name on it. He joked that a Toronto science-fiction convention should be held there, and they could refer to it by a possible original name for the stadium: “ConDome”.
But now, there was nothing left in Toronto. Or Chicago. Or Portland. Or Milwaukee, as the TV continued on. And now, the volcano eruption of Mount St. Helen’s seemed to trigger an earthquake along the San Andreas Fault in California, with Phoenix, now in ruins, from the aftershocks.
“Damn, Heather!” said Lisa. “I should’ve listened when you told me to buy that beachfront property in Yuma!” Heather simply stuck out her tongue at Lisa in response. “So where do we go now?”
“You have family in Switzerland,” Lisa’s friend Alex told them, stroking his red beard while thinking. “Could we go there?”
“We’d have to refuel somewhere along the way,” Gayle replied, her pale blue eyes thinking. “Like New York.”
“You could go to Syracuse, or Buffalo,” said Alex, chuckling as he said it.
“Assuming there still is a Buffalo-Niagara Airport left when you get there!” Marah stated. Marah had spent many years living in Buffalo, and was glad to be living in Toronto, but now she and Alex, along with their families, would need somewhere else to go.
“How many people does your plane hold?” asked Alex.
“About sixteen, depending on cargo,” said Gayle. “We may need to put you, Marah, and Chris in the Cargo Bay,” she remarked, looking at their portly figures.
“Hey, I’ve been eating the healthy brownies!” Chris protested. Zoe glared at him. “The ones without the Ex-Lax, right?” He looked at Lisa for reassurance. Everyone laughed in response.
“Here, you can use my computer,” said Drew, offering the laptop. “See if we can refuel at Buffalo-Niagara, and continue to Geneva, Switzerland. You all have passports, right?” Everyone nodded, and Gayle sat down at the computer.
###
The convention continued on as planned, but the rains continued. Gayle was forced to return to Meig’s Field, and fly the plane to an outlying Chicago suburb, because Daley’s Folly, as well as part of McCormick Place, was now under water. The downtown Hyatt was also suffering damage in the lower floors, and the elevators could no longer be used to go to any of the rooms. The trip to Buffalo was interesting, because of the conversation, not the scenery. Half the party was asleep, having spent the last five days awake for the con. Chris had insisted on playing Magic: The Gathering with Jon, saying they hadn’t played it together for almost ten years. Lojen ended up running through the aisles with Tristan chasing her. Even at age thirteen, some things never changed. Drew and Lisa enjoyed a good cuddle together, with Neil and Janice saying they’d always wanted to visit Switzerland.
The plane quickly refueled in Buffalo, and was waiting for the airport to confirm travel to Switzerland. By this time, Chris had gotten out his laptop, and was playing the online computer game based on Lisa’s books, and talking on all his instant messengers.
“Hey, Lisa?” he asked curiously.
“Yeah?” Lisa replied, sitting up in her chair slowly.
“How big is Switzerland?”
“About the size of Minnesota.”
“Where does your family live?”
“In a town called Villars.”
“And how many languages do they speak there?”
“French, German, Italian, some dialect that’s a mixture of the three, and I’m pretty sure they speak English there.”
“Do you think ‘avalanche’ means the same thing in all those languages?”
THE END
Responses to Survivors:
Neil Lane’s response, 05/03/03
Two questions...
1) What exactly did you have to drink the night before (or the morning of)
this dream?
2) Where can I get some of the answer to (1)?
Speaking of which, Janice is making some mint syrup for juleps for the
Derby. This is a drink that would be long extinct if it weren't for the
Derby.
Maybe that would be a good event - making and drinking drinks that are no
longer made!
Thanks for the drives. You have no idea how much it helps. Otherwise I'd
have to try to do everything in the 40-hour week that I was supposedly hired
for. Besides it gives us a chance to talk.
We'll have to find a way to do a late night again. It's harder than before.
---'---,--(@
Neil
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adrienne McClintock"
To: drew, neil, marah, alex, dengar
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 3:18 PM
Subject: dream
] As if you needed any more proof that I'm weird...
]
] I tried to interpret what I could of my dream, but you can have fun
] too, if you like!
]
]
] Dream, April 16, 2003
]
] I was in a car, seemed to be in the middle of the back seat, going
] eastbound on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. It was a very
] futuristic looking Toronto, possibly more than 5 years. We drove
] underneath a building that was under construction. At first, I thought
] it might be the SkyDome, except I could see the CN tower far in the
] distance. This one seemed to be closer to the Exhibition Grounds.
] Before we passed under the building, there seemed to be a bridge, arched
] in a high angle, rather /\ shaped, steeped, metal, and painted white,
] very straight lines, short and rectangular guard rails, being more
] functional than artistic. I am guessing this actually was the CNE
] grounds, though I remember a similar bridge, in real life, a far
] prettier suspension bridge, being at a park farther west of the CNE
] grounds. I remember the walkways of the Ontario Place being similar to
] these, but taller, with larger vertical windows. The ones on this
] bridge seemed longer horizontally, and darkened, and the walkway itself
] seemed very square and proportionate. Come to think of it, I'm pretty
] sure this was a reconstruction of Exhibition Centre, as I do not
] remember seeing them in my dream, and this new building seemed to be at
] the same place along the road.
]
] As we passed under this building, the lights were the purple sort of
] flourescent, and brightish, not like Hubbard's Cave in Chicago. From
] the rafters above the right lanes were purple banners, more on the
] fuschia side. Not like a royal purple, more like a colourful, prettier
] purple. They had white writing on them, and I remember a small
] Ontario-type crown on the upper left side, and on the right, block
] letters reading "Royal British something, now on exhibit at..." and I
] couldn't read the rest. I'm guessing it was an advertisement for
] the ROM. From the rafters above the left lanes were banners far more
] colourful, with a blend of purple, pink, green, blue, and silver,
] designed like a sports logo. It seemed to have a picture of whatever
] the building was, and the words in a Star-Trek type font "Ontario Dome,
] COMING SOON, 2002" This confused me, because it's past 2002 now. I
] couldn't read the banners very well at the speed the car was going at,
] so I could have been wrong. I remember other people being in the car
] with me, but I have no idea who. I do remember a lot of chaotic,
] excited talking, though I have no idea what the conversation was about,
] and I didn't seem to be participating, just watching out the window,
] as if I didn't want to miss seeing anything, that somehow, it was very
] important to remember even the smallest details. I sort of get the
] impression that the other people in the car MIGHT have been Serial
] Diners. I don't think I currently know any other group in Toronto
] with the same energy and conversation levels, and I can't think of
] which of my other friends might either.
]
] We drove out from under the building, and the day was very grey and
] overcast, but still sort of brightish, like maybe 2 or 3 in the
] afternoon. I could see the CN Tower off in the distance, and it struck
] me that the Toronto skyline was all different from what it is today.
] Some of the familiar things were blocked off by other buildings, and I
] could see a few cranes in the distance, and some of the old buildings
] had been knocked down, presumably to build new things. It was still
] recognizable as Toronto, and I'm pretty sure it would have been, even
] without the CN Tower being in the dream. I think there were lights on
] the SkyDome, and it seemed to be a sort of pinkish-purplish colour,
] though why they were lighting it during the daytime, I don't know.
] Maybe it's on a light sensor, as the day was rather overcast, seemed
] like it had just finished raining a little bit earlier. Purple and red
] play a prominent part in my stories, and I remember staring at a poster
] in my bedroom before falling asleep. Maybe that explains the colours.
]
]
] I'm trying to remember if I saw the Canada Trust building, and I
] vaguely remember seeing the lights being white, and moving upward, with
] a red blinking light on the top. But then I'm thinking that's what
] I saw on my last visit to Toronto, when it was raining, and very heavy
] fog during Ad Astra, and I could barely see the SkyDome or the CN Tower
] from the Gardiner Expressway, even when I was RIGHT next to it!
]
] Season seemed to be spring, lots of rain, people walking outside with
] coats on, medium weight. We turned left, going northbound. Seemed to
] be going down a street, no idea which one. There wasn't much on the
] left side, just seemed to be a ravine, lots of green grass, cars going
] down the road. On the right side, seemed to fascinate me. A large
] tower, looked like condos. Hard to tell if it was being built, or
] getting destroyed. From the car, I could look down in that ravine.
] There was lots of construction debris surrounding the base of the
] building, in a giant light-tan coloured earth pit. There were destroyed
] cars down there. One looked like a 1970's station wagon, with just
] the front bumper ruined, and the passenger side door. It was one of
] those cars that was that yellow like my first truck, the colour of which
] nobody has a name for-- yellow, beige, tan-- same colour, and with the
] wood panels typical of 1970's station wagons.
]
] The other car startled me, looked like a classic 1950's or 60's
] car. Not sure what type, but I've seen it a lot before. Seemed to be
] maroon, and teal blue, with the white and chrome stripes going down it.
] The car was almost completely totalled, and looked about to plummet into
] a giant lake caused by rainwater. The scene looked very much like a
] movie set, and I think I remember the conversation in the car mentioning
] that. I was wondering why anyone would allow such a beautiful, classic
] car, to look the way that one did, all smashed up and looking abandoned.
] I thought it might have to be for a movie. It seemed to make no sense
] otherwise. It just occurred to me now that the car looked a lot like
] Nick Knight's car on "Forever Knight", except his was a convertible,
] and I don't think this car was, and the car in my dream was mostly
] teal blue, but had maroon on it too.
]
] I looked some more at the tower, so see if I could figure out what it
] was, what it used to be, or what they were doing to it. I couldn't
] see any construction signs.
]
] We drove past this tower, and that's when I woke up. I was wondering
] if this dream might have anything to do with the "Survivors" story I
] wrote the other day. I also thought it might be caused by reading Rob
] Sawyer's "Flashforward" before bed. I got to one line in the novel
] which sort of struck a chord with a story I wrote last month. They were
] talking about the many-worlds theory, block universe, and free will, and
] I remember the line: "What's the point of reading a novel whose
] ending has already been written?" It sounded a lot like something Xon
] might say in response to the Books of Prophecy in my own stories, and I
] guess I went to bed thinking about that.
]
]
]
] Anyway... *hugz*
]
] --Adrienne
Chris Catt’s response to Survivors: (phone call) “My asthma isn’t THAT bad!” and “I don’t take THAT many drugs!” and “We’ve gotta go to another con together!”
Heather Rice’s response to Survivors: (phone calls and instant messengers) “That’s so cool. My kid isn’t even born yet. They just told me it would be a boy, and I told you the name I’d picked out.” Tristan Joseph Rice was born in May, 2003, on Victoria Day. She also remarked how we should set up Lojen and Tristan on a play date.
Drew Mathers’ response to Survivors: (grinning, smiling, laughing) “You think we could cure your grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease and cancer with Norton AntiVirus?” He still thinks we should hold an SF con in the SkyDome, and call it “ConDome”.
Predictions so far:
· Meig’s Field was completely torn apart in the middle of the night by Mayor Richard M. Daley. It reverted to its original name of Northerly Island. Plans to convert it to a casino, a park, and a grassroots movement to rebuild the airstrip are all underway.
· Carol Mosely Braun is running for president as a Democratic candidate, announced months after this story was written.
· Seattle won the NASFiC bid for 2005; Chicago is bidding for the WorldCon in 2008, both announced at Torcon, in September 2003.
· Jonathan Titchenal has only been published through iUniverse. I remain to be published at all.
· Robert J. Sawyer’s story, “The Stanley Cup Capers”, commissioned for the newspapers to promote Torcon, stunned me with his views of a futuristic Toronto, which seemed to mirror the images I saw in my dream.
· Blasted Bill Putt and Karen are still dating. Chris and Zoe have broken up, this time for good (we think). No word on Jon and his girlfriend. Alex & Marah still attend cons together. Lojen and Tristan have not met yet.
· Lisa Truant-Tan was given baby clothes for Ian from Lojen and my son, Xon. Lojen has not been to Toronto, and it seems unlikely these kids will ever meet.
Survivors 2004-One year later.
What has happened so far?
Drew and I still visit if/ when I go to Toronto.
My parents are still raising Lojen, out in Naperville.
I no longer work at McCormick Place. The CEO of McCormick Place/ MPEA/ McPier, Scott Fawell was indicted in Governor George Ryan’s licenses for bribes scandal, and is now serving approximately 6 years in a federal prison. It has been said that his political ties allowed him to get the west wing expansion for McCormick Place approved, and with those ties gone, that wing may never get built. Otherwise… one prediction right. :)
Meig’s Field has been torn apart, and resorted to its original name of Northerly Island. What to do with the land is still undecided, though Mayor Daley has spoken of a park for the island, and a casino for McCormick Place.
I still do not live in Canada.
Gayle Lathrop does not fly her glider much anymore. Since her husband, Paul, died, I’m not sure she flies at all anymore.
We still do not have Chicago’s third airport in Peotone. Nor do we have an expansion project on O’Hare airport.
It is highly doubtful that anyone will beat Mayor Richard J. Daley (son of former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley) in an election. Illinois Congresswoman Carol Moseley-Braun did run for President in 2004, but dropped out of the race extremely early.
Neil Lane and Janice Makela are still married, and are still my friends. Two predictions right. :)
Chicago is planning a Worldcon bid, set for 2008. I’ve also heard they plan to use the same hotels as 1991 and 2000, though one hotel site may get switched. Anyway, seems likely that this will make three predictions right J because as far as anyone knows, Chicago has always gone uncontested for Worldcon bids.
I am still unpublished, but considering that three weeks ago, I was chosen to read my short story “Repo Man” in front of four professionals at Twilight Tales, it is entirely possible that I will be published and up for a Hugo award in 2008. So we can only hope this would be four predictions! :)
Jon Titchenal has two books out on iuniverse.com (self-publishing, ick!), the first of which is called “Born Loser”. But since self-publishing will never win you any awards, we can forget about Jon winning any Hugos. I wouldn’t even call that a prediction in my story. Really, I was mostly being cute.
Robert J. Sawyer did in fact finally win the Hugo in his hometown of Toronto, for his novel, “Hominids” in 2003. This was after previously being 7 times nominated for the Hugo. So, this makes 5 predictions. :) Also, Rob was commissioned by the Toronto Star newspaper to write a story to promote Torcon. That story, “The Stanley Cup Caper” showed a futuristic vision of Toronto almost identical to what I saw in my dream. I mentioned this to Rob at a con, and gave him a copy of this story, but still have not heard back yet. Meanwhile, Rob’s story was nominated for at least one award, I believe.
All my friends will be at the Worldcon, of course. But that doesn’t really count as a prediction.
Jon still has not moved to Milwaukee, nor is he engaged. No word on his relationship status. Chris and Zoe broke up for good shortly after this story was written. Chris moved back to Indiana. Oh well.
Blasted Bill Putt and Karen are more likely to live in Michigan than in Phoenix. But they are still together. Six predictions. :)
Heather Rice did have a baby boy on Victoria Day in 2003, so the little brat is about a year old now. Still haven’t met the kid. She knew she was having a boy, so I was able to write him into the story as a five year old Tristan Joseph Rice (his actual name). She still lives in Phoenix, though she goes to DragonCon every year. But I’ll take the point for prediction seven anyway. :)
Lojen and Tristan? God/ Ghod/ Bob, etc. help us… Lojen babysitting? Again, help us… Ian Tan is still future con committee though, and I can see Heather trying to set up Lojen and Tristan… I think I’ll pass on the point for this one though…
Natural disasters? Okay, no points there…
Chris, still a large Samoan build kinda guy, but his asthma really isn’t that bad. Heather’s asthma is very bad though.
I no longer have pictures of Neil with nerdy haircuts or goofy glasses. I’m sure he’s thankful for that.
Jon still wears his floppy hat. He’s color blind, and when he opened his closet to show me his wardrobe, I saw about a week’s worth of identical navy blue t-shirts, and identical blue jeans. So yeah, I imagine he’ll look about the same in a few years. I have Gencon pictures of Jon, Chris, and myself from both 2000 and 2001, and was a bit surprised to find all three of us had stood in front of the same wall, and wore the same clothing, and pretty much the same expressions. Can I get a point for that? :)
Drew and I are not married, and have never been. Didn’t I mention that earlier?
The Bloor Street viaduct and the Don Valley Parkway do have a habit of flooding whenever it rains very hard in Toronto.
I don’t believe the Toronto SkyDome has ever considered naming rights, but if so, I could certainly see Rogers Cable as having the money to do it.
I’d imagine if the weather was severe enough to destroy part of the SkyDome, that anyone would be a fool to go up in the CN Tower. But then, they ARE reporters… Nuff said…
Seattle did win the bid for the 2005 NASFiC convention. Alex and Marah are on committee, and I would very much like to go. Prediction #8. :)
Like I said earlier, I still do not live in Canada, nor did I get that job transfer. But that may be a possibility someday.
Drew still has not used Norton Anti-Virus to find a cure for Alzheimer’s… or cancer. Thanks for the laugh, Drew, and another great idea! Considering that Janice is a doctor specializing in geriatrics though, the possibility for what I suggested in my story does exist!
But since the above hasn’t happened yet, we can scratch off the fancy house in the Toronto suburbs, and the naming rights for the SkyDome. Sorry, I think I got my geography wrong. I believe Bridal Path is actually Bridle Path, and it leads to High Park, and not Edwards Gardens. And yes, they do have homes back there worth several million dollars.
We should STILL go for a sci-fi convention in the ConDome :)
I should still buy some beachfront property in Yuma, Arizona. Hey, you never know…
I can only wish that monstrosity of a building called McCormick Place would be entirely flooded out!
I’ve still never been to Switzerland.
There’s a movie coming out soon called “The Day After Tomorrow”. I saw the 10 minute preview. Save your money, and read my story. I probably write better than they do anyway! :)
***
Yes, absolutely comment on those other predictions! Especially if you were actually *IN* the story!
Oh, I did eventually hear back from Robert J. Sawyer about this. He was amused by "Survivors", and how I portrayed people we both know, but was more intrigued by the dream I had, inspired by his book "Flashforward". He thought it was remarkable that my dream, and his commissioned story, "The Stanley Cup Caper", had such striking similarities on what a futuristic Toronto would look like. I searched Rob Sawyer's website for his story, but I can't find it anywhere. :(
I'll also go over those predictions again, and start updating the list on what I got right and wrong. Yes on Mount St. Helens erupting, yes on the Toronto SkyDome selling naming rights, not surprised it's now called Rogers Centre. Yes on Seattle getting Cascadia, no on Chicago getting the 2008 Worldcon. Bill & Karen had a kid together, broke up, but Karen and Megan are visiting Bill in Michigan as I post this, so hey... you never know! Meanwhile, I haven't visited Toronto since Torcon, in 2003, and Drew & I broke up in about 2002, but we still talk.