See You Later

In 2041, Lu Chen, suffering from a terminal illness, chose cryonic preservation because he believed in the future. A hundred years later, he really did wake up. Cancer had become a disease of the past. Robots did the labor, while AI provided healthcare, education, and companionship. No one went hungry because they were unemployed, and no one was denied treatment because they were poor. Humanity had finally achieved everything he had imagined in his youth. The only problem was that this era no longer needed most people to work. Survival was free. But kitchens, privacy, family, companionship with real people, natural food, and a life not arranged by algorithms all cost extra. Gu Linchuan wanted to live “like a person” again. But the harder he tried, the more he lost. In the end, even the girl he loved deeply began to ask him: “Do you want me, or the version of me that will never change?” A man who once believed in the future more than anyone finally arrived there. And then began to miss the past.