Eastercon Flash Fiction

TV 2050

"Oh come ON," Grandpa said. "When I was a lad, we BEGGED our parents to let us do this!"

Grunion and Lilian rolled their eyes at him, not even bothering to hide it. "Grandad, we want to go outside! We hardly ever get bodies," Grunion said, trying to sound as reasonable as he could. At 11, he was the diplomat of the two. He'd been the one who'd negotiated for an entire day in-world, despite Mom's complaints about the carbon taxes.

"This is important," Grandad said. "It's part of our family's tradition. Your mum and I used to snuggle up on that sofa and watch cartoons together when she was a girl. I DVRed them!" He looked expectantly at them, waiting for praise of his technical prowess. The two kids rolled their eyes straight back into their skulls as they looked up DVR, then rolled back in synchrony.

"You couldn't just CHOOSE what you'd watch?" is what Lilian said. She was NOT a diplomat.

Grandad sagged. A lone tear slipped down his cheek. "Look," he said, "It was the only thing I was ever really good at. It's an important and vanishing skill. I just want to pass it on to you."

They sighed. "All right," said Grunion. He couldn't bear to break the old man's heart. He'd wheedle an extra hour of embodiment out of mum in exchange for it. They'd get to walk around outside later.</pre>