Finally, Jake Martinez was back in the 21st century. His trip through time to the year 2286 had gotten his mother's cancer cured but he didn't get to bring back any other objects. He didn't get any stock picks or any other information that would be directly useful to him in 2014. The only evidence that he had ever gone was the time travel orb which didn't glow any more. It would be no more valuable than a paperweight for the next 5 years. The omnipotent artificial intelligence that ruled the earth in the end of the 23rd century was called the Aye. It had told him that he would not be able to use the time travel orb to return for five years. Jake had marked it on every calendar he possessed: December 14, 2018.
He had been pining for Riojme, the generous, compassionate, and beautiful woman he had met in 2286. He had left her in the Aye’s prison cell inside one of the towers of downtown Los Angeles. For her, no time would have elapsed between Jake’s disappearance and when he got back, but it would be five long years for Jake.
Jake went back to work at his government office building in Pasadena, California. His job seemed so unimportant now. Maintaining software applications and answering user help calls seemed so much more boring than smuggling nuclear weapons and shooting robots with microwave pistols.
Unfortunately, the last couple of weeks in 2286 were spent eating delicious foods that he had instructed the robots to prepare and he had added several pounds. For a 24 year old 5 foot 9 inch man, his 180 pounds didn't make him obese but he wasn't in good shape and he had a small frame to begin with. His 2014 New Year's resolution was to lose all that extra weight.
