3. It's 2062! I'm Coming to The Future!

"Jeez, I only have a small balance left on the card for the train," Darren muttered listlessly as he looked at his commuter line train card.

Darren's steps moved along the sidewalk of the commuter line. Darren had intended to return to his parents' house in the village. Along the way, his eyes only pay attention to the commuter train card in his hand.

"Luckily the loan sharks didn't take the rest of my allowance that I hid in my pants," Darren muttered with a sigh of relief.

Darren lifted his face as his destination train arrived. Suddenly his steps immediately rushed to get closer to the station platform.

Everyone who was about to board this train seemed to be jostling. Darren repeatedly nudged the shoulders of several people around him. Soon the train stopped.

The train doors opened. Passengers from inside the train came out, followed by other passengers from outside-including Darren entering the train door.

Luckily, Darren still gets a seat to sit in the crowd of passengers. Darren leaned his back as he let out a long sigh. It felt like a very tiring day.  

Darren fiddled with his shabby backpack that was placed on his lap. Until finally, a rather scuffed printed photo was taken out. His movements had stopped when he realized that the printed photo was his wedding photo with Cloe.

Darren stares at the printed photo, remembering that a few hours ago Cloe divorced him just like that. His heart still hurt knowing Cloe was in a relationship with another man behind his back.

"Cloe... why do you have to do this?" asked Darren muttering.

His life is now a mess.

Darren lost all his money, was divorced unilaterally by Cleo for cheating on her, then his best friend who had helped him kicked him out. Darren was fired, his good reputation had been destroyed since he became a prisoner.  

Everything Darren had built up over the years was destroyed.

What should Darren do now?

Darren clutched his wedding photo tightly, then leaned his head against the back of the chair. His eyes were closed. The bruises on his face still hurt and he didn't have any money for wound medication.

As he closed his eyes, Darren recalled the successive events that started when his coworkers spread rumors of him being an embezzler. Until the moment he was released from prison and found out that his wife and best friend had betrayed him.

Darren's heart heated up. The anger that arises because all the people he trusts are betraying him grows. But Darren couldn't do anything else.

Darren tried to think of the right way to solve everything. Unfortunately, there isn't one.

Darren's body was very tired. He just wanted to fall asleep and hoped everything would be better once he opened his eyes.

At that moment Darren forgot all the problems that happened today. Darren fell asleep without caring about the crowd of commuter train passengers.

Until a few minutes later, Darren's body jerked when he felt an impact of some kind. Darren woke up in a state of shock, then looked around.  

The train doors were open. Several passengers then moved down from the train. So did the passenger sitting in the seat with Darren.

With his concentration not yet fully gathered, Darren immediately got ready to put the backpack strap on his arm. Darren hurriedly stood up and followed the passengers who got off the train.

"Has it arrived in Washington yet?" Darren muttered as his feet stepped onto the station platform.

Darren had just froze while watching the passengers pass by. His gaze was still unfocused because his sleepiness had not disappeared.

For some reason he felt a sense of awkwardness. The platform of this station looked different from the previous platform. There were several robots walking back and forth as janitors, several tools that worked automatically with the latest technology systems, and also a robot hovering above Darren's head with a security guard.

"What's going on?" asked Darren. "Has Washington had these robotic officers since I left for New York?"

Darren felt strange.

"Mr. Darren?"

In the middle of his reverie, Darren was startled when someone called out to him from behind. He turned around and saw a formally dressed man standing.

"Who?" asked Darren, looking strange.

"My name is Walt, your personal secretary. I finally found you. The Miller family has been waiting for you for years," said Walt.

Darren frowned. He felt confused after hearing the 'Miller Family' mentioned. It felt like he had never dealt with the Miller Family or known them.

"The Miller Family?" asked Darren with a confused expression.

"That's right. Your family, the Miller family," replied the Walt.

Darren frowned. He didn't think he knew the Miller Family. His family didn't have an official surname like that.

"I don't know who the Miller Family is. I'm not a member of their family. I think you've got the wrong person," Darren replied later.

Just as Darren was about to walk away, Walt blocked the way. Automatically making Darren stop walking.

"I didn't meet the wrong person. Wait, I'll make sure of something for you," Walt said before taking something out of his shirt pocket.

Darren looked at Walt with astonishment. Shortly after Walt pulled out a print, Darren saw the palm-sized print in front of his face.

"Do you recognize the boy in this photo?" asked Walt.

Darren frowned and squinted his eyes. He then took the print that Walt handed him and watched intensely.

In the print was a formal portrait of a family with three boys. Among the three boys, Darren was familiar with one of the children standing on a chair wearing a fancy flat cap.

Darren immediately rushed to his backpack and tried to retrieve something from inside the bag. Darren still had a picture of himself as a child. He took out a shabby printed photo of a small boy in an elegant flat cap on a bicycle.

The look of himself in the photo in his hand was more smiling than the boy in the photo from Walt.

"That's you, right? The flatcap hat you're wearing is from a famous brand and is a limited edition. In 2002, when you were born, there weren't many children wearing flat caps like yours," Walt explained.

Darren was instantly dumbfounded by Walt's words. He remembered that his parents back in rural Washington had been very protective of the flatcap. But they didn't explain why.

"I'm a member of the Miller Family?" asked Darren. "Who are they? Why do I have a private secretary?"

Walt gave a faint, but brief smile.

"Come with me."

Although hesitant, Darren stepped up to follow Walt. Darren was still being cautious in case Walt would do something to harm him.

As he walked, Darren's attention immediately shifted to looking at the atmosphere of this station. Darren did not expect that there were already technologically advanced robots in charge of serving.

When he came out of the station, Darren was even more surprised to see cars running without drivers. Darren was also surprised to find out that every person passing by had a flying robot or a walking robot by their side.

"What's going on? Why is Washington's technology so advanced?" Darren asked spontaneously.

Walt looked back at Darren and gave him a brief lopsided smile.

"Of course 2062 is the year for advanced technological civilization," Walt replies.

Darren stopped walking and held Walt's wrist. His face was dumbfounded.

"What did you say?" he asked, making sure he heard.

Walt was momentarily confused, then replied, "The year 2062. Why are you surprised? We're already in 2062."

In that instant Darren was so wide-eyed that he automatically covered his mouth.

"The year 2062? Now?"