Vol. 6: The Mirror
A Short Story
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Christmas 2038 near Los Angeles, California USA
“Wow! Wow! Thank you!” Jenny exclaimed.
She was holding in her hands the one item that millions desired. An item so new and so in demand that only an elite few could obtain.
Jenny was the center of her parent’s universe and they had traded in many favors to purchase her a new “smart” mirror. A mirror which, by proximity, connected to a microscopic chip implanted into the owner. The device was aptly called the “YouMirror”.
Jenny generally liked the way she looked but she always wished she could look more like some of the digital magazine models or the most beautiful of the reality show women she watched every week. Smaller this, bigger that, smoother skin, fuller hair, flatter hair, no freckles, a perfect nose.
Jenny’s new mirror could help with this.
“Look the way you have always wished, with the new YouMirror!” loudly proclaimed the advertisement.
“Nothing can make you happier than a YouMirror!”, the ad boomed.
Jenny’s dad hung the mirror by her vanity table. Her parents had previously decided it was in Jenny’s best interest to get a B-Safe ID Chip injected into her, as recommended by her state’s health agency. She powered on the mirror and the B-Safe ID Chip automatically connected, linking Jenny directly to her YouMirror.
The YouMirror was not a mirror in the traditional sense. It was a revolution in screen technology comprised of thousands of nano-machines suspended in a viscous non-conducting liquid. Each nano-machine contained a camera.
Based on data transmitted from the B-Safe ID chip, the nano-machines arranged and rearranged according to incredibly fast calculations and could display a precise image. The image in the mirror moved when Jenny moved, turned when she turned, and changed when she desired a change, all with imperceptible latency.
The one feature that released a tsunami of consumer demand for YouMirror was its ability to transmit a 3D fully interactive image of the owner anywhere that required their presence. School rooms were no longer physical rooms with humans but instead digital “rooms” populated with holograms. It was impossible to spread physical germs and viruses in a digital school which, corporate and government experts had concluded, was worth the loss of human interaction.
As Jenny looked at the mirror, she examined her ‘reflected’ appearance and thought, “I wish I had a wider smile and straighter teeth”. She blinked and immediately noticed that her smile was indeed wider and her teeth were straighter - just as promised by the advertisements.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. This made her very happy. She couldn’t wait to connect to her classes to show off her new look.
It wasn’t long before Jenny’s image was as beautiful, or maybe even more so, than any reality star. She became more and more popular among her classmates, constantly neuro-texting with her friends and admirers. Jenny was even contacted by the producer of a new reality show about becoming a digital cast member.
All was wonderful for Jenny until a glitch occurred.
On the day of the glitch, Jenny sat in front of the mirror admiring her perfected image when, all of a sudden, the image started to move even though she sat, statue still.
When the image stopped moving, real-Jenny could she herself in a movie-like scene. Her face was her own and she was dressed in rather worn and practical clothes feeding small children in a run-down and disheveled room. There were no other adults in the room and a thought suddenly came to real-Jenny that the children were orphans. The children smiled at image-Jenny and real-Jenny realized that, without help, these children would be lonely and hungry.
As she watched, the image in the mirror transformed to a new scene. Real-Jenny saw herself sitting close to and apparently comforting an older woman. The woman seemed very lonely, but she perked up when image-Jenny spoke to her. Image-Jenny wrapped a shawl around the woman and sat very close to her. The woman smiled brightly at image-Jenny. They joyfully talked.
Next, real-Jenny then saw herself walking along a city street only to come upon an injured man lying on the sidewalk. Many people walked around him; one man even kicked him in disgust and irritation. Real-Jenny watched herself stop, kneel, and talk to the man. Image-Jenny quickly rose and ran off apparently seeking help for the fallen man.
More and more scenes appeared until the mirror finally settled down, reflecting back her real image. Image-Jenny was now real-Jenny, with a smile not quite so wide and teeth not quite so straight. The freckles were back too.
Except, Jenny noticed that her image face shone with a soft, warm glow. It was subtle, but nonetheless, her face radiated in a way that she had never before seen. Jenny was shocked when she realized that she had not asked the YouMirror to create this glow.
Jenny sat and stared long at the mirror reflecting on what had happened. The glitch left her with a deep longing for actual human interaction.
She felt a sense of real purpose and a sense of meaning. Her life mattered.
Jenny slowly sat back in her vanity chair and paused for many minutes, deep in thought. She then reached out and unplugged the mirror and the screen image slowly faded.
Jenny knew her true image now. She didn't need a mirror. She wanted real relationships with real people.
She decided to make a difference.
Jenny arose from her chair, with purpose, to do just that.
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After she does some good works with her faith, she looks in the mirror and Jesus is now reflected back! Faith without works is dead, but hers is alive and reflected!
This is a book waiting to be written!!