Welcome to the autobiography of Hanalie Surat, who was born in 1974, and died in 2335. No, that is not a misprint.
I am only the humble messenger, a nobody, except that I received a visit from a most unexpected being, a friend of Hani’s who appeared one day to place this project in my hands. Why I was selected for the task, I still don’t completely understand. But his persuasiveness, and his very existence, convinced me to read her story.
Hani was a wise-cracking and slightly irreverent pilgrim who became a great wise woman; an intrepid adventurer who was all-too-human in her stumbles and her efforts to find meaning and truth in all she did. Her life reads at first like one more chick flick, all about relationships, the good, the bad and the ugly; then the tension builds as it reads more like some political thriller. A few chapters in, it takes a sudden and frankly unbelievable turn when she collides – quite literally, and almost comically – with the future.
Her account turned everything I’d ever read in science fiction on its head. A woman alone will apparently always have a challenge making her way, no matter which century she lives in. Hani’s willingness to sacrifice everything for Love, for Truth, led her to choices I think few of us would have the courage to make.
In her narrative, she assures us that her tale is true. The friend who brought her story to me (along with Hani’s precise guidelines on how she wanted it presented) assured me that events happened just as she describes. I believed him. Though clearly not an emotional guy, I could tell he misses her greatly.
In her instructions, Hani explained that she wanted people to be able to read short sections, maybe a piece here or there on your smart phone while you’re waiting in line for your latte. She didn’t care, either, if you skip ahead, though she thought you should have the full story, in case you wanted to go back later and fill in the background. If you read the descriptions of each part, and the Contents, you can get a sense of the flow and dive in wherever you like. No one knew better than Hani that Time flows in more than one direction!
It saddens me to think my path could have crossed with hers. She left just a few years ago. When you’ve finished reading, you’ll know as much about her as I do. And I truly believe you, too, will feel as close to her as I do.
Finally, this is a project still under construction. All the parts exist. If they’re not all in place quite yet, blame me, not the Author.