Sufficiently Advanced

In the World of Athena Minerva, in the United States of America, on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024 AD, at 5:24 PM local time, at the shore of a beautiful lake, a young man tells his phone, "Place my vote for President. The one with the nose."

"Done," it replies in a voice half-way between a mother and a mistress, "Would you also like to cast your vote for county dog catcher and six circuit court judges?"

He sighs and rolls his eyes, "just... Just use your artificial intelligence to figure out who I would have voted for if I took the time to read all their biographies, and cast my votes for me."

"Done," it replies.

He posted what he had done on social media.

Exactly 97 years later to the day, on the same spot, a young satyr tightened the bands on his latest invention, which soon, he hoped, would literally catapult him into the eyes of the public. Not far above him, a band of fairies and angels played their instruments floating in a circle in the air close to the center of the beautiful little lake with as many swimmers, boaters, and rafters as the law would allow.

He spotted Lolita, perhaps his favorite person in the world, among the band, with her translucent butterfly wings contrasting her naked human-looking body as she joyfully played her delicate soprano sax with seemingly more buttons than she had fingers. She was a cop, so it was rare that she could get a Thursday off, especially right before an holiday weekend.

An entertainer/inventor's lack of routine was definitely an advantage as the satyr saw it. He could choose his own working hours and deadlines, and as the crescendo of the song approached, he knew his big moment was near.