Chapter 3: A Stranger in the Digital Age
What a good guy.
Pulling out his phone, Lirael snapped a quick photo of Steve, who was surrounded by a throng of fans. Satisfied, he nodded to himself and opened his social media, and then he uploading the photo on his account with a cheeky caption.
[ I'm just ran into Captain America today. What a sweet man. Too bad I didn't get a chance to touch his big chest. [image.jpg] ]
When he finally finished giving his statement at the police station and made it back home, his phone chimed with a distinctive ringtone. Lirael unlocked his screen to find a notification from his account.
[ Your friend 'Stars and Stripes' has liked your post. ]
Along with a chat notification from someone he'd marked as a special contact.
He opened the chat.
[ @StarsandStripes: Good evening. ]
[ @StarsandStripes: Are you off work? ]
Ever since being awakened from his slumber, the world had been full of things beyond Lirael's imagination.
The towering skyscrapers of the city, a jungle of steel and concrete that blocked out the sky, lit up with colorful lights at night, illuminating every corner. There were no elves, no dwarves, none of the races or kingdoms Lirael was intimately familiar with, and he couldn't even sense the presence of Valar. Humans dominated every region, wearing lighter clothing, speaking strange languages, and using gadgets that he couldn't comprehend to fill their peaceful lives. Though wars still occurred, they were distant for most people. Even when they fought, they no longer used longbows and swords, nor did they wear armor. Instead, with a mere pull of the trigger of something called a "gun," they could instantly kill enemies dozens of meters away.
This was an age that dazzled the senses.
Without a doubt, Lirael was utterly unfamiliar with everything in this era. But that didn't mean he was at a loss. The long lifespan of elves had given him wisdom and insight, allowing him to see through the ways of the world. The adaptability accumulated over thousands of years meant that from the moment he was awakened, he embraced his situation with grace, confident that he could adjust to any changes—even if every inch of this new world constantly overturned everything elves once knew.
With a deep curiosity for this new world, he began learning everything about the 21st century, greedily absorbing every novel concept he encountered. Before long, he was introduced to something called the internet, and once he learned how to use it, his sponge-like absorption of knowledge only intensified, growing even more fervent, to the point where he soon reached a surprising level of saturation.
During his time exploring the modern world through the internet, Lirael stumbled upon a social media called LEX.
This website, like many popular social media platforms of the time, was a large-scale interaction platform where strangers could connect. It had a large user base. In addition to basic chatting and profile features, LEX had a unique characteristic—it could match users with the most compatible conversation partners based on the information they provided, and in most cases, these interactions would successfully develop further. For someone like Lirael, who hoped to integrate more deeply into modern society by engaging with others, this feature was incredibly appealing.
With a mindset of "why not give it a try," the elf discreetly registered an account for himself. After filling out his profile, he posted it and waited for the platform to match him with the most suitable partner.
Typically, LEX would provide four to five account suggestions, occasionally even six, but never fewer than three. Even if the matches weren't ideal, there would always be backup options to choose from, maximizing the platform's success rate. However, whether it was due to Lirael being a rare species who had lived for thousands of years, or simply a glitch, the LEX system took an unusually long time to search, far exceeding the average time, and in the end, it matched him with only one user—
[ Congratulations! You just match with @StarsandStripes. ]
The account was level 1, with no profile picture or activity, looking as plain and suspicious as a possible bot or inactive account.
Lirael stared at his screen, completely baffled.
Faced with the empty profile of @StarsandStripes, he began to wonder if LEX had simply given up on finding a suitable match and randomly assigned him an account. After waiting so long, though, it felt like a waste not to give it a try. Lirael hesitated for a moment before opening the chat window and sending a simple greeting.
[ @PointyEars4Life: Hello. ]
He initially thought it might take a while for the other person to respond—if they even replied at all. It wouldn't have been surprising if his message disappeared into the void. Just as Lirael was about to close the chat window and browse other sites, a clear notification sound suddenly chimed, alerting him that the other party had accepted his friend request and replied.
[ @StarsandStripes: Hello. ]
Lirael glanced at the time. Less than ten seconds had passed since he sent the message.
And so, with this very ordinary greeting, they began their first conversation online.
Chatting with @StarsandStripes was an unexpectedly pleasant experience, Lirael quickly realized. His tone was calm and composed, taking Lirael's every word seriously, never resorting to insincerity just because they were communicating through a digital medium. Even more remarkable, he occasionally seemed to share Lirael's sense of disorientation with the 21st century, as if he too was peering at this world from across a temporal rift. Many times, this shared confusion evoked a strange and profound resonance between the two of them.
Lirael had a feeling that @StarsandStripes must have felt the same way as him. Naturally, although the conversation had begun with a bit of formality, they soon found themselves bonding over this mutual understanding, growing familiar with each other and eventually chatting about everything under the sun.
It seemed @StarsandStripes had a rather unstable job. Although he also lived in New York, his online schedule was far less regular than Lirael's. Sometimes, he'd be online all day; other times, he'd disappear for days. But whenever he logged into LEX, he would always reach out to Lirael. Even if Lirael wasn't online, he would leave a message. Most of the time, their conversations were just idle chat about everyday occurrences, but without a doubt, even such trivial exchanges could brighten Lirael's entire day.
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