Alex wandered down to the central court of the mall and found a seat by the big fountain in the center.

He opened the Omni and read the first part of Burning Chrome. Then flipped randomly through the pages stopping at a ad for an advanced TRS-80 Model 100 “laptop” computer.

The ad made him chuckle and touch the iPhone that hung at his side. “Wonder what they’d think of you?” Then he remembered how badly he’d wanted a Model 100 back then, at how advanced it was.

If this is a dream, it sure doesn’t feel like it. So… Something he learned in the last 24 years, seize the moment, came to mind.

He walked over to the mall directory and started looking. Surely a mall of this size will have one… Bingo! “Aladdin’s Castle Arcade, Yes!”

Somewhere there was a Joust! machine that was about to be pwn3d... way before that term even existed.

He checked the directions as he reached into his pocket to count the change. “Three quarters… that should be enough.”

He headed off in the direction of the arcade.