Carmel-by-the-Sea, 2027

Thank you for coming to visit your father again. Sweet dreams, A-- When is he going to get better? There is a boy. The boy is in a bed. There is a woman. She is in the doorway. Now, son, I've told you time and time again, your father's very sick. He's been very sick. For too long. The boy is impatient. But he's going to get better soon. That's what you've told me time and time again. And it hasn't happened yet. The boy is tired. We're lucky that the hospital has kept him alive for so long. What about the doctor? …Doctor Hegelsohn is working his hardest to wake your father up. I don't like him. He always looks at me funny when we visit Father. He's in my dreams now. I don't like him at all. Well you'll love that doctor once your father's awake. We'll have no one to thank but him and all our hope and patience. Now goodnight, my son. Goodnight, sweet child. And yes, thank you for your patience. I'm sorry for what seems like…a haunting demeanor on my part. I know you love your father very much—and soon, he will know too. You don't know how much you're helping your father right now.