That evening we sat up long into the night conversing with our new acquaintances,dining upon their novel Italian dish of melted cheese on thick bread. In a long free-roaming discussion they explained to us that it was now several years after the second millennium and talked us through some of the miraculous devices which the never-ending march of science had made possible. Full colour moving images were viewable on many devices, even for two rational Englishmen such as Holmes and myself, the effect seemed truly magical. It was now common for plays to be performed once and be preserved in this ghostly form for all eternity. I had of course seen crude cinematography at the fair but those flickering monochromes seemed somewhat pathetic compared to what I now beheld. I was very much flattered to discover that my own accounts of Holmes' exploits had been adapted into such picture-plays,some of them a little more fanciful than others. Holmes scoffed at one short sketch which showed him battling supernatural creatures.
"If you don't like that," said Doctor Cooper, "We won't show you the infamous animated series 'Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd century', although I suppose it is similar to your current situation. Oh of course! You simply have to watch 'Elementary dear Data' ."
With this he inserted a silver disc into the viewing machine which I had earlier called a mirror in my naivety. He was playing for us an episode of a series which attempted to portray an even more distant future,in which mankind trekked across the stars in sealed vessels. In this world,the magic of moving images had been taken even further,to the point where it was now possible to be entirely immersed in the image and to interact with it. Two crew-members of the airship around which the series centred, had taken advantage of this technology to role-play as Holmes and myself. Holmes smiled at the skilful imitation of his deductive powers by the pale skinned gentleman but was a little affronted by his constant wearing of a deerstalker hat,
"That damned artist of yours Watson,"he muttered under his breath.
When this enjoyable if bizarre tribute to the work of myself and my companion was concluded,our hosts preceded to give us a demonstration of their portable telephones. These devices were among the most powerful which we witnessed in that fascinating glimpse into the future. They were the size of pocket-books,yet were capable of transmitting telegrams and even voices over vast distances. After showing us the basic principles,they handed them over to us and graciously invited us to play at using them. Holmes took Cooper's device into another room and laughed with childish glee as he wirelessly uttered the message "Watson,come here, I want to see you!" mimicking the words of Bell.
Holmes returned and the four of us once again gathered around the televisual device, we watched as the two doctors inserted several peripheral devices into that wondrous screen. We were told that this was to demonstrate a form of gaming which used responsive moving pictures. After becoming familiar with the controls, Holmes quickly became the clear winner in a somewhat violent game in which the object was to kill your opponents using firearms. He was as absorbed in the on-screen motions as I have ever seen him while calculating his next course of action in a case.
"Despite the vivid imagery it remains simple mathematics to adjust my position for a fatal strike. At it's core this activity is much like chess."he uttered to the world in general. Doctor Cooper nodded approvingly.
After partaking in these enjoyable activities with the two men,the initial enmity which had tainted our first meeting was all but forgotten.
"This has been fun guys,"remarked Doctor Hofstader jovially , "we should have people from the nineteenth century over more often."
"From a nineteenth century Leonard, not ours,"commented Cooper.
"Indeed it has been a most remarkable evening," said Holmes as he stood up. "Would you be so good as to recommend a hotel?
"No."said doctor cooper,shaking his head emphatically.
Holmes looked puzzled.
"No I would not recommend a hotel, Windows that don't open, multiuser bedsheets,keys in the shape of credit cards. Oh I'm sorry they're a form of electronic payment which uses a plastic card somewhat like a playing card. As you can imagine keys have no business being shaped like them." He smiled falsely, signalling the end of another of his monologues which rivalled Holmes' for their oddness.
A look of realisation dawned on Holmes' face, "Payment! It had completely slipped my mind that neither of us has any currency in this world. Least of all anything that has remained legal tender. Would it be too much to ask of your patience to allow us a night here?"
Doctor Cooper seemed to think long and hard about this, "Hmm, I suppose, there is a clause in the room mate agreement offering asylum to people displaced in time,on condition they have proven that there not malevolent robots. I shall have to administer the test. Ok, so you're walking along in the desert and you see a turtle turned on its back-"
"Just let them stay Sheldon!" snapped his companion wearily. I shot him a look of understanding. I was all too aware of living with the strain of a dear friend's trying habits.
And so it came to pass that I spent the night upon the couch, drifting asleep with Holmes by my head in the adjacent armchair. I lay half awake,hardly daring to guess what adventures the next day would bring.