Waking up in the utopian future

Two young women stared silently at a woman encased in an amber-like substance.

"Hana Hangetsu, female. Age, 21. The notes state she was perfectly healthy, and entered amberstasis simply in hopes of being preserved for eons."

"She's the last of the amberstasies here though, so I say we revive her."

"If she wants to stay like that, we have to respect her wishes."

"Does it say that in the notes?"

The woman bit her lip before shaking her head.

"Then if she left no specific requests NOT to revive her, we revive her."

...

The sensation of standing under a hot shower aroused my groggy eyes from their slumber. As soon as my vision cleared, I slowly looked around, noting I was in an unfamiliar setting. Though I was still clad in that weird spacesuit thing. Ugh, everything's a bit hazy.

I decided to wait until my headache subsided before recounting my memories. My name is Hana Hangetsu. I'm a vlogger that travels the world, capturing all the unique sights and scenes for all to see. My last escapade though was a bit of a doozy.

There was a small landlocked nation in the middle of Asia that seemingly had technology that could preserve you for eons. I've always been curious about what the future would be like, but since I'm just a human, my life-span is pretty short. Thus I figured it'd be best to preserve myself young, so that I could trek whatever kind of world the future was. I guess at the very least the procedure didn't kill me. But am I really in the future?

Before I could ponder the matter further, a woman with long curly pink hair suddenly appeared before me.

"Hana Hangetsu, yes? My name is Selena Salamandra. I've appeared before you to check for any abnormalities."

"What do you mean by that?"

Selena quickly explained how they wanted to make sure I wasn't contaminated with any diseases or radioactive matter. Guess it makes sense. I was then ordered to remove my suit, which I did without question. This suit was really uncomfortable, though contrary to what one might think, I wasn't nude under this suit, in fact I was fully clothed even down to the shoes.

I also had essentials stashed in my pockets and breasts. Phone, charger, SIM cards, SD cards, wallet and passport, even though it's probably long past it's expiration date. On that note, I should be hopeful there's an easy way to make bank, because my credit cards are all likely expired and I have no idea if dollars are still good. That is assuming of course, I am in the future.

Once the checks were complete, Selena vanished and a door opened up. I took it that it was an indication for me to leave, but first, I had to check my phone. I made sure the thing was fully charged before they encased me in amber so it should work.

It did in fact turn on, but the date was displayed as March 1st, 2024 7:31 AM PST. Before I suited up, it was 7:24 AM, so either I've only been out for a little while, or my phone isn't displaying the proper date. I tried to connect to the internet, but an error message popped up. Seems I really do have no choice but to leave first... Actually no.

While the date and time might not be accurate and I had no internet, my camera was most certainly working. "Hey, it's Hana Hangetsu. Last time, I posted just before I was seemingly encased in amber to be revived later in the distant future. Apparently I'm out, but my phone is saying I've only been out for a few minutes. Maybe this was a bust, I don't know, but I'm about to find out soon. Now let's venture forth."

...

In the control room, Selena and a woman with short blonde hair watched as Hana left.

"My, is that a smartphone on her?"

"From what I can tell, seems to be a 2023 model."

"And is she filming with it? That's cute in a sense."

"You mischievous vixen, she's probably gonna conk out at the sheer shock of all the revelations."

"All the more reason we monitor her to make sure she adjusts to life in 2569."

"Heh, we should call up Lyn. She'd get a kick out of meeting a relic like her."

"Not yet, my adorable little gremlin. We mustn't overwhelm her too much."

...

I made my way down the hall and soon arrived in what appeared to be the main lobby. It was far more high-tech looking than it was when I came in, but it's still possible this is all a big prank. Selena and a woman with short blonde hair then emerged from a door and approached me.

"I believe formal introductions are in order since this is our first meeting face-to face. I am Selena Salamandra, a scientist here at Jantar industries. The woman beside me is Irina Kobold, also a scientist here."

"What do you mean  'first time meeting face-to-face'?"

Selena quickly explained how the her I saw before me when I woke up was actually a holographic projection.  I then realized I was still filming and began to panic.

"Ah, my apologies. Is it OK to film you two?"

Irina let out a chuckle and struck a pose. "Wow, grandma here really is old fashioned."

"And what does that mean? I'm 21, thank you very much."

"Ara, she's younger than us," Selena chuckled."

"NO WAY! She's 566 years old!"

Wait, 566!? That would mean...

"Let's step outside first," Selena smiled as she grabbed my wrist and began dragging me out.

When the doors opened, my eyes were overloaded by the sight before me. This had been some lab in the middle of the desert, yet now there was a bustling future-esque metropolis. It certainly looked convincing, but I still had doubts it was real.

"Welcome to the year 2569, Hana," Selena smiled.

For some reason, her words didn't seem fake, so much so, that my hand began to loosen, and my phone fell out. Time seemed to slow as it fell to the ground. Was it going to break? No, that's my life partner right there. If it breaks-

Vrrp!

Much to my shock, the phone stopped in midair, and slowly returned to my hand.

"Pretty handy, right? In this day and age, we've cracked the Earth's gravity to the point where we can manipulate it to catch anything we drop and return it to us," Irena grinned.

Now it had finally begun to set in. "I'm... in the future..." 

"Damn right ya are. What, you didn't think you were actually still in the past, right?"

"Irina, it's perfectly natural for those exiting stasis to think that. But I believe the gravity-aid helped convince her she truly had made the trip to the future," Selena nodded.

Curious, I inquired about this so-called "gravity-aid" and learned it was made possible thanks to the earth's gravity being connected to AI. It was capable of halting the falls of not just objects, but people as well. A world where the elderly no longer need to fear falling... A shame it took over 500 years to achieve.

...

As somberness began to overtake Hana's face, I lightly frowned and shook my head. It was all too common for those coming out of stasis to feel sadness at how much the world had changed. While I am obligated to help those that were in amberstasis at Jantar adjust to this era, I must exercise caution in how I explain the schematics of the world. This is an emotionally vulnerable period for Miss Hangestsu, so I must try to think of a conversation topic that will lighten the mood-

"So you really gonna go waltzing out in those old duds?" Irina snickered.

Ah, I made a grave oversight; I'm with Irina, Jantar's firecracker so to say. Brashness is her bread and butter so regardless of the environment, she'll say what's on her mind, even if said thoughts can be hurtful.

"Huh? What do you mean my clothes are outdated? You two look like you're wearing modern- Er, modern clothing from my era under those lab coats," Hana countered.

"Sure, they look the same on the outside, but..."

Irina leaped into the air and spawned a clear platform beneath her. "Our duds are updated for the times. Don't worry, modifying those old duds is like downloading an update. So wanna truly modernize that drip?"

Hana stood in silence for a few seconds before smiling and affirming she was "down". While I don't always understand the lingo Irina uses, nor stray too far out of my comfort zone like her, I'm glad she was assigned my partner. She really does make up for my short comings, but I won't let her hog all the glory. I didn't get my second degree in tourism for nothing after all.