[ WP ] Your entire human life was just an educational simulation of the species that existed on the planet long ago .

Calle de los Huerfanos is one of those pedestrian streets full of cheap souvenir carts and annoyed people in transit. Wet plastic bags and ice cream bar wrappers stick to the sewer gratings. You can ’ t hear nothin because there ’ s dudes out busking every few blocks. It ’ s a fun enough place for a partial afternoon. 
 
 Our protagonist, Jimmy, was walkin a little too fast, head on swivel to take in the sights. First time in Santiago. Most people don ’ t even get a first time there. South America ’ s not that popular, kinda spread out geographically and such. And people tend to die before they get around to travelin. 
 
 Jimmy was a good old American boy, clear eyes, full heart, the whole nine yards. Had a girl back home, a good career in the works, and a wee bit o ’ money in the bank. Blue jeans, cotton shirt, faux leather jacket. Messy hair. Stupid grin, but likable all the same. Green eyes, just like his dead momma. 
 
 Jimmy was turnin that neck round and round, checkin out a steaming cart selling some kind o ’ nuts, a lady sellin hats, pedestrian with knuckle tattoos, wrinkly old man in a crisp blue suit tellin ’ tales to a group o ’ bored cops with helmets. 
 
 Another old man. This one on a bench. Wearing blue, but a fleece not a suit. Clean enough. Smiling. Not just smiling, grinning, laughing, guffawing. 
 
 Ain ’ t nobody talkin to him. Just sittin there laughin to himself. Holdin up a glass bottle with no label. Looked like whiskey. Maybe a magic potion. Something less than 375ml. 
 
 Jimmy realized he ’ d stopped walkin. He was just standin in front of the man, staring at him. 
 
 And then the man stop laughin, turn to him and speak. 
 
 “ Your entire human life, ” the man says, “ Was just an educational simulation for a species that lived on the planet long ago. ” 
 
 Jimmy didn ’ t say nothin. He just stood there, and thought his thoughts. World disappeared around him. 
 
 *I surely wish that were so, * Jimmy thought, *Miss you mama. * 
 
 The world came back around him. Jimmy walked on. The living got ta keep living and all that. 
 
 But sometimes, even to this day, he ’ s walking somewhere and he just stops and thinks. How do we know we ’ re the ones living in the world? How do we know we ’ re not the man on the bench drinking the magic whiskey. How do we know we ’ re not talking to nobody about nothin. 
 

