Eureka! Corner Drugstore, Slushy March Afternoon

The clerk rings up my two prescriptions, super-strength cough syrup, Aloe-treated tissues, and a $6.99 “Sincere Sympathy on the Loss of Your Mother” card for a friend—then advises me to enjoy the day. Shocked by the coexistence of her rational exterior and illogical yak, I abandon the obvious response—In what universe could that happen, you pasty-faced trilobite? I reassess, discover she is me, my Ideal Self, fully realized, the Real Deal. She doesn’t just talk augmented reality; she lives it! Time to cheer up, quicken my inner Queen of Lemonade, leave old Norman Vincent Peale panting in my sniffly, sneezy dust, and renew that Robotics for Everyone subscription. Who knows? Maybe someday I could love a low-footprint cyberdog.