Served by a robo waiter — I looked around after settling in my seat. The Italian restaurant, a block away from the Sears tower, was packed with the Friday evening crowd. Everyone was enjoying their food and company. I was not there for the food. The restaurant was famous for its robo waiters. After many embarrassing…

When the bits stopped flowing — It was 5:47 pm when I came out of my office. As I walked slowly toward the parking garage, I realized it was only the third time this year that I worked from the office. …

Using a simple technology — A giant spaceship with 10,000 alien soldiers entered the atmosphere. The ship’s captain planned to drop the soldiers at various points on earth, launching an attack to take over the planet. But then the spaceship suddenly stopped 2000 miles above its target. The captain radioed the pilot, “Hey, what happened…

A 65 million-year-old decision — God entered the conference room, greeted his team members, and began. “I know it’s a difficult decision to make. Many of you were closely involved in the evolution of dinosaurs, and it breaks my heart to kill them all in one asteroid strike.” He paused, looked at the somber faces, and continued. “But the rules are clear. Any species that dominates a planet has to go.”

He was and is still a jerk — I remembered today’s date when I drove out of the parking lot. April 14, 2045. Shoot, I forgot to call my brother! I called him. He answered immediately. “Hey, Kathy. What’s up?” As I slowed down at a stop sign, I said, “Do you know what day today is? It’s…

Trapped in a time capsule — Four minutes into my live CNBC interview, the host Melissa Lee asked the question I was dying to answer. “Professor Quinn, you are an expert on the stock market price action. Our viewers are always interested in your latest work. Are you working on anything interesting that you would like…

Waits for his uncle to die — I have to admit. I don’t wish anyone harm, but when I learned my uncle suffered a massive stroke, a small part of me rejoiced. Why? Two words. Nine million. That’s the amount my uncle left me in his will. He was a brilliant stock trader, who never married, and…

Played by a frustrated God — God stared at the computer screen with a red face. He threw up his hands in despair and said, “This is getting ridiculous.” He turned to his assistant. “Can you get Raj, the architect of the UnivSim game? Tell him it’s urgent.” Within five minutes, Raj was standing before God…

An aging procedure goes horribly wrong — I was preparing for my court appearance that afternoon when I heard a gentle knock on my office door. A weary-looking middle-aged man with a receding hairline entered. I got up and shook his hand. He said, “I am Jarvis, we spoke on the phone this morning.” “Yes, yes. Please…