In This Life or the Next

One Hundred Years More

Another day, another date marked off the calendar.

"69 years left--nice--*ahem* I mean, it's so close but far. Oh man, I'm even using quotes from her time. Just how deep into this am I?"

A bespectacled young man stood in front of a wall calendar. In his hand was a red marker, and on the calendar were many dates with a large 'X' marked on them.

And yes, he was quoting ~450-year old memes.

"But I won't make it. I was born too early. Why am I here then? Just to suffer? Suffer the pain of never being satisfied. Ah, whatever."

A lot of them.

In his small room, walls covered in posters, shelves lined with figurines, floor littered with pillows and books and electronics, he spent the days religiously watching videos of an era long before his own.

'The Age of Idols' he dubbed it.

A short period of just over twenty years, 2010 to 2030, when young people from around the world abounded the Internet, singing, dancing, and bringing joy to almost all who watched them.

It peaked towards the end of the 2010s, leading into the early 2020s.

Idols were most abundant in Eastern Asia, especially in countries like Japan and Korea. And with the help of the technology of the time, virtual idols were made and quickly became popular worldwide.

This was what the young man worshipped.

Yes, worshipped.

Aside from stepping outside of his house for work or buying necessities, he spent all of his time cooped up in his apartment watching hours-long videos from four-and-a-half centuries ago.

The young man had forsaken all social interaction, save for checking in with his family and at work, for the sake of enjoying a culture that didn't exist anymore.

"Hmm, if we're going by the timeline from 2021, today's date should be the same as when Suisei released her 'KING' cover. Yes, I think I'll watch it again," he muttered to himself.

He tapped on a few keys and a video started to play on his archaic device.

"Actually, today, I'll watch all of the 'KING' covers."

A short while later, an entire playlist of different covers of the same song began to play on the computer.

The young man let out a deep sigh. "Still, it's a damn fucking shame I won't be there for it. Just under seventy years until she returns? I'll probably be a hundred by then! Please God, why did you have to put me on this Earth so early?!"

To tell the truth, the average lifespan on Earth had already increased to about one hundred years, but of course various variables played into that, and the young man's current lifestyle didn't exactly fit the mold for a long life.

People of The Age of Idols would no doubt refer to him as a 'shut-in.' He ate like one, he looked like one (only at home), and he lived like one.

The young man cast a forlorn look at the holographic timer at the corner of his desk. It steadily counted down to July 1, 2521, five hundred years after the Chairman's departure. Right now it read 69 years, 4 months, 20 days.

(Nice)

He tuned out the music and fell into thought.

"Since I'm 27 and there's sixty-nine years left, I'll be ninety-six when Chairman comes back, and that's if I can live that long. If I keep eating instant-ramen everyday, I'm definitely not making it that long. But if I start exercising and eating healthy to live longer, I'll have less time to watch their streams, less time to enjoy the culture, less time for idols and vtubers.

"And even if I do start exercising and stuff, I definitely can't do it here. My apartment's not suitable, and I'll have to go to the gym. And if I go to the gym, some gym dudes might pull me into their group antics, and then I'll have even less time for idols and vtubers. And if the gym dudes' antics start to rub off on me, I might attract someone, and get into a relationship, and then I'll have even less time for idols and vtubers.

"And if I get into a relationship, I won't be staying loyal to my girls! And they're supposed to be the only ones for me! I'll be cheating on them!"

Ah, a shut-in's mind is a wonderful, yet scary, place.

"No matter what, I definitely can't let that happen!"

Taking a swig of an energy drink, the young man pulled out a more. . . current electronic device and began to tap and swipe on the screen.

"Reunion. . . the first. . . everyone. . . headquarters. . ." he muttered as he worked on the tablet.

Various text and images flashed across the screen as he set up a future event and tied it with the countdown clock.

"If I can't be there when it happens, then I'll just prepare something for the young ones so they'll know what to do.

For the next half hour, only the sounds of clicking and various covers of 'KING' could be heard inside the apartment.

*     *     *

"Done!"

The young man collapsed onto the ground with a heavy sigh.

He glanced at the tablet that was lying next to him.

On it was an entire website dedicated to counting down to the Chairman's return.

The front page displayed the countdown clock in large text, labeled 'Chairman's return.' It was also decorated with many pictures of the chairman. There was a drop-down menu on the side leading to other pages on the website, which included the history of the Chairman, the history of the Clan, the specifics of the Promise, the Chairman's associates, and other things. Anything and everything there was to know about the Chairman and her work was up for display.

And the date and location of the reunion was displayed at the top of every page. July 1, 2521 at the former location of COVER Corporation headquarters.

But the young man made it so that only people who knew the website address could access the website. No search engine could pull it up, so knowledge of the website could only spread by word of mouth.

He pushed up his glasses. "Since I've given up the prospect of living that long, I might as well go out into the world and spread the word. Anyone interested can contact me. Maybe I'll find someone I can settle down with, start a family, pass on the legacy to our grandchildren. . ."

"Wow, I'm thinking really far ahead. . ."

The young man took a glance at the website. He scrolled down to the bottom where there was a line of text.

'People waiting: 1'

"I hope I'm not the only one. . ."