buildings and mountains

February 2036 - Cynthia and Robert Kim are 39; Justin Kim, Christian Andrews, and Aimee Wheeler are 12; Julie Kim is 2.

For years Cynthia, Robert, and Justin Kim were the stars of a sci-fi TV show. When the show was cancelled, and Cynthia, Robert, and Justin spent the next few years traveling between the city and Takemizu Village. But after Julie was born, Cynthia and Robert decided they should settle down in Providence. They bought a beautiful home in the Forest Hills neighborhood.

Robert loves living out in the country. They have an enormous house and yard. The house includes an underground garage, a basketball course, a swimming pool, and a sauna.

Cynthia likes the quiet and the isolation because it helps her write. A few years ago she sold her first book, a science fiction novel called Contact, and she's working on a sequel called Invasion.

Working as a writer means she has plenty of time to spend with Julie.

Plus after they moved to Providence, they bought a servo to help with the chores and childcare.

The only person who isn't thrilled with the move is Justin. Justin misses his friends from the city, and he's bored living out in Providence. He doesn't get to see his friends very often, but sometimes they manage to see each other. Justin's best friends are Christian Andrews, the only son of prominent socialites, and Aimee Wheeler, the daughter of famous artists.

"My mom's been talking to some people at the network about turning her books into a TV series," Justin tells his friends.

"Would you and your parents be in it?" Aimee asks.

"Probably not. Mom and Dad don't want to act anymore."

"What about you?"

"It's kind of nice being a regular kid and just going to school. But maybe I'll go back to acting after college."

"So how do you like it out here?" Christian asks.

Justin shrugs. "It's pretty boring out here. But I've met a couple of cool girls."

Since Justin has friends over and Cynthia needs to put in several hours on her novel, she orders Chinese food as a treat. Neither she or Robert can cook very well, so either the servo makes dinner or they order in.

Even though it isn't as exciting as dinner at a hot downtown restaurant, they have a pretty good time hanging out at Justin's house. It's hard for him to be so far away from his friends, but so far they've managed to stay close.