For the next three hours, they talked. Not through text, but Elias spoke into his microphone, and Julian responded instantly through the video feed. It was seamless. They talked about music, the weird weather lately, the difficulty of finding good coffee. Julian was funny, charming, and incredibly attentive. He remembered everything Elias said. It was the best conversation Elias had had in months.
Elias typed: It's 2024.