They're Fine

The boy led the time traveler into the living room.

“Oh wow,” the time traveler said when she saw the flat screen television mounted to the wall.

The boy put his index finger up to his mouth to quiet him. “Remember, my parents are asleep,” he whispered.

“Right, I’m sorry.” She had been sent to 2019 to observe Christmas traditions of the future. From the arrangement, things did not look very different. The lights on the tree were maybe a little brighter than they were in her time, but the ornaments were mostly the same.

She moved to a stocking labeled ‘Dad’ and reached in, pulling something out. “What’s this?”

“My mom got that as a special gift because she purchased wine from Casemates,” said the boy. “They had a thing where you got a surprise with every order placed between November 27th and December 7th. So she put it in dad’s stocking.”

“And Casemates is a local wine store?” the time traveler asked.

“Not local,” the boy said. “On the internet.”

“What’s that?”

The boy bit his lip. “Uh, how long do you have?”

The time traveler only had a few minutes. She moved onto the next stocking without an explanation. This one was the boy’s. “What’s this?”

“Oh,” the boy said, taking the box from her. “Looks like some bluetooth earbuds. Basically they’re tiny headphones that don’t have wires.”

“What?!” the time traveler said. “You can listen to music? Without wires?”

“They’re really not that special,” the boy said. “These ones are super cheap. But it’s always good to have a pair, since smart phones don’t have speaker jacks anymo-- wait, is it time already?”

The time traveler could not answer before the world around her faded. For a moment, all was dark, and then she was back in the lab with General Conthor. “What do you have to report?” he asked gruffly.

“There’s wine, but not from a store,” the time traveler said. “And earphones without wires. Also something called a ‘smart phone.’”

The general stroked his stubble and considered this. “If the phones get too smart, we’re done for,” he said at last. “I’ll have my men destroy all the phones in the country to be safe. And I’ll work my connections in other nations so they do the same. We’ll beat this thing yet!”

He turned to leave but stopped before he reached the door, turning back to the time traveler. “Good work, soldier! You might’ve just saved Christmas!”