"Paula, you should go home and relax. Your research will be here tomorrow."
Paula rubbed her eyes. "No, Matt. We're so close. I'd rather work a few more hours."
Matt stretched and yawned. "Oh well, was worth a try. I love what we're doing too, but I'm not exactly twenty-one anymore."
Paula grinned, her eyes shining. "But isn't that the point of all this? We could be on the brink of the most important discovery in the history of humanity. Eternal youth! We would have all the time we could want, for work and rest!"
Matt rubbed his eyes. "Yeah... but maybe you should invent a no sleep formula first. I'm beat!"
Paula shook her head. "I don't think we'll even want that, if we no longer have to worry about growing old, or getting sick."
Matt snorted. "Speak for yourself. With a new baby in the house, I'd rather have the no sleep formula."
A low tapping on the door interrupted the conversation.
Paula's eyebrows rose. "Who is it? If you're here to clean, you're early."
"I'm not with the cleaning service. I'm here to speak to Paula Robertson."
Paula opened the door. "Hello, won't you come in?"
The woman walked into the room, and looked around. The eyes behind the huge dark glasses seemed to settle on Matt.
He gulped. "Ma'am. Is it too bright in here?"
She smiled, her lips tight. Then she patted the scarf covering her head. "No. I'm just taking precautions to avoid being seen by anyone except you two."
Paula frowned. "Why? This isn't a restricted area. While it's true that I'm not sharing the details of my most recent discoveries yet, I'm always happy to speak with anyone who is curious."
The woman nodded, and took off her scarf and glasses. "I know. It's complicated..."
Matt sat down, missing his chair by several feet. Paula gasped, and covered her mouth.
The woman sighed. "I knew this would happen. Unfortunately I couldn't think of a better way to accomplish this, though."
"But... you look exactly like me," whispered Paula. "
The woman sat. "I am you. Six hundred years from now. As you can see, your hypothesis is correct. But you're asking yourself the wrong question. You're asking how we can live as long as we want. The ultimate question is, should we. I'm starting to realize that our fairly short lifespans existed for a good reason."
Paula crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're so bored of living, just stop taking the formula. I for one look forward to seeing what the distant future is like."
The older woman shook her head, and dabbed at her eyes. "You misunderstood. I'm not bored of living, I still look forward to every day. The problem is with our increased lifespans we've been making scientific advancements by leaps and bounds. Our knowledge far outweighs our wisdom."
Paula looked at her feet. "I don't think it's because we live longer. Even now we're making great strides. Why do you think lifespan is to blame? Shouldn't having older people who have more experience bring more wisdom into the world? What should I even call you, by the way?"
Her older self smiled. "I prefer Paulaine now, it makes me feel closer to Mom. You might just have a point about the wisdom. What would you do about the rapid advancement of technology?"
Paula ran her hands through her hair. "I guess I'd take the discussion public. Advances aren't bad, it's how they're used. Which comes back to the value of those who have lived a long time."
Pauline nodded. "Thank you, I don't know why I didn't come to this conclusion as my older self. It's as if a lightbulb turned on over my head!"
Matt yawned. "This is all very fascinating, but I do wish the think tank would focus on a no sleep formula!"
Both women chuckled. Pauline looked around the room. "Do you have anything I can write on? I distinctly remember that Matt's baby didn't sleep through the night for a long time. We can't have him sleeping on the job!"
Matt jumped to his feet, and gave Pauline a hug. "In this case, I love advancement!"
She laughed. "Use it wisely!"
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery
