Ascension

Looking at himself in the mirror, he carefully studied his features. There was slack everywhere, and more wrinkles than there had been the last time he looked. He was proud of his hair though, that was still a vigorous black. His wife always said he was handsome.

The room was brightly lit, the bright light coming through the window giving everything a pink tinge. Sighing, he activated the lighting overhead. This was too important an occasion to mess up by picking mismatched socks. Looking through the wardrobe, he pulled out a few of his best suits and laid them out on the bed. Carefully scrutinizing them for any marks or stains, he finally picked out the gray one. A nice classic look with very faint pin striping.

He sat down heavily on the bed. This used to be so much easier. He pulled on some dark gray socks and an undershirt, then a very dapper orange shirt. He struggled for a moment with the pants, but it was worth the effort. He was about to put on a black tie, then changed his mind and went for the dark gray one instead, to match his socks. With the jacket and shoes on, he once again studied himself in the mirror. The ensemble was faintly nostalgic, but was missing something. He wouldn't have looked out of place at his parent's graduation but there was something missing. With a triumphant smile, he grabbed an orange handkerchief, carefully folded it and tucked it into his breast pocket so that it was sticking out at a jaunty angle.

Perfect. Now he looked classy.

He looked around the room. Everything was in order; there was not a spec of dirt anywhere. Gordo had done an excellent job today. He checked his console for any new messages then shut it down. Moving out the hallway and down the stairs, he met Gordo on the landing.

"Good day, sir," sir Gordo.

"Well now, it is indeed a good day," replied Joseph. "A good day indeed. You've done very well."

"Thank you sir, you are most kind."

"Look after the place Gordo, I won't be back for some time."

"You are leaving, sir?"

"It's my time. I'm not as young as I was and it's about time I was moving on. Don't worry, I've taken care of everything so you'll be fine. You've been a good and loyal friend."

Joseph gave Gordo a gentle pat on his plasteel shoulders and walked out the door. He wasn't one for long and teary goodbyes. And Gordo would probably be happier without having to wait on him hand and foot anymore.

Down on the street, Joseph walked at a leisurely pace. He could have taken his private vehicle, but the view was more interesting from down here. High above, the lanes were moving briskly, with little congestion for this time of day. He wondered briefly if something crashing onto him would be a blessing or a curse. It was always a wonder to him how rarely one of those vehicles fell out of the sky.

Passing a young man with a pram, he nodded a polite greeting, which was warmly returned. The young man was moving at a brisk pace, obviously out exercising but it was good to see that he took the time to reply. It wasn't always so, and Joseph had lived in many places where basic politeness was considered a weakness. Fortunately, those days were long gone.

At an intersection, he had to pause for a moment as a freight lorry thundered past. It was an odd sight, since those heavy vehicles were normally not seen around these quiet streets. As it headed off down the street, he read the company name on the back and realized that it was a house being delivered.

As he continued on his walk, he started to warm up. The morning was still brisk as spring was running a little late this year, but by regulating the speed he walked at he could keep warm enough to feel comfortable but not hot enough to start sweating. It would be quite rude to show up all smelly and sweaty. Well, if he started to get too hot he could always summon a cab.

As he walked, he took note of the people around him. There were some who were just out for a stroll; others who were obviously on their way to something important. On the other side of the street he could see a young couple walking hand in hand, heads close together and oblivious to the rest of the world.

Fondly, Joseph recalled the time when he was courting Jasmine. His late wife had been the recipient of several suitors, and Joseph had been over the moons when she had chosen him. That had been a long time ago, and their life together had not always been bliss. But they had worked their way through the hard times, raised six lovely kids and had had over a dozen grandkids.

After about an hour of casual walking, he came to his destination. It was a non-descript building, near the municipal and administrative section of town. A simple sign on the door said ‘Ascension'. Joseph walked in and was greeted by a young receptionist. They made small talk for a few minutes, and then he sat down on one of the comfortable chairs provided as he awaited his appointment.

There were several holoviews scattered on the desk beside him, so he picked one up and turned it on. There were a few uninteresting fashion excerpts from last season and a strange film about ghosts and taking drugs that didn't appeal to him. He was looking amongst the others to see if there was anything of interest when several people came into the waiting room.

"Dad!" exclaimed the man in the lead.

Joseph looked up, startled. His son Robert, Robert's wife, Joseph's other son and daughter and a few others that he didn't recognize had walked in.

"Hey, you made it!" said Joseph.

"Sorry Dad," replied Robert. "Nathaniel was a bit erratic today. Of all the days to choose!"

There was some scattered laughter.

"It's good to see you, son," said Joseph as he gave Robert a big hug. His other son and daughter joined in the hug. "Thanks for coming out."

"We wouldn't want to miss it," said his daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm an old man. A hundred and eighty is getting pretty old nowadays. I figure I'll leave all the hard work to the hundred and thirty year olds!"

A smattering of a giggle passed through the assembled crowd. A lady in a white smock came into the room and stood at a respectful distance.

"Looks like it's your time," said Robert. "Any final words of wisdom?"

Joseph thought intently for a moment. He pulled a slip out of his pocket and handed it to Robert. "These are the codes to my logs. Find something deep and meaningful in there and tell people I said that."

Robert took it from him, and then Joseph hugged everyone in turn. After a moment, he turned to the lady that had walked in. "I'm ready."

"You can have a few people accompany you, if you wish," she said.

"No. This is the sort of thing that one should face on their own." Turning, he waved goodbye to everyone and followed the lady further into the building. Although he was going to his death, he had lived a long life. He was tired, and he was ready for the next stage, whatever that might be.

The End.