July 21, 1986
5:00 PM PDT

'Great Scott!' exclaimed Doc, after Marty Jr and Harmony had told him everything. 'Do you know why I'm in a coma? Also, I agree with you that we cannot let your father die. I mean, he's saved my life a few times - so it's only fair that we return the favour.'

'Maybe we could go back to earlier in the day,' suggested Harmony, 'and we could prevent your older selves from taking the cruise. Would that work, possibly?'

'I'm not so sure that's such a good idea,' Marty said, shaking his head. 'Well, we could maybe try travelling a hundred years into the future - and see what medical advances are made, then. There should something by then, that could cure my condition.'

'Well, I don't want to have to resort to that, if it isn't necessary,' Doc said, sighing. 'Anyway, we do need to use the time machine responsibly. Heck, I can think of many major tragedies that I would like to go back in time to prevent - but that could just create a big rift within the space-time continuum. The major reason why we agreed to help you guys to prevent Elias Grey from spreading the epidemic, is because I felt that there was something higher then ourselves causing us to do so.'

'Yeah,' Marty agreed, nodding, 'it is kind of a strange coincidence that you happened to send me 30 years into the future, on the day that Andrew Hopkins had died from the epidemic.'

'All right, kids,' Doc said, firmly. 'Now we need to make plans to see to it that Marty's older self does survive. Then we need to help Marlene to patch up her relationship with her father. It's kinda funny that I never really thought much about Marlene before. Heck, the only thing I really knew about her was that she got sent to jail for 20 years - for trying to break her brother out of jail. That was, of course, the very first time that I had travelled to 2015. Obviously, the future has changed considerably since.'

'What did I go to jail for, anyway?' Marty Jr asked, confused.

'The first time I had travelled to 2015,' explained Doc, 'Griff Tannen and his gang had bullied you into committing a robbery, that would send you to jail for 15 years. Then, I had brought Marty and Jennifer to 2015, I had Marty pose as you - so that you would end up not going to jail. I have to admit that I was somewhat inexperienced at that point in time. I should have simply warned Marty to not race Needles. It appears, though, that Marty had learned his lesson back in the Old West.'

'I guess that incident had made a bigger impression on me, anyway,' replied Marty. 'So, anyway, does Griff still hang out with Data, Whitey, and Spike?'

'Yeah, they do,' replied Marty Jr, 'and I can hardly believe that that version of me had let Griff and his gang bully me into committing a robbery. Believe me, I was never the kind of person to take crap from that gang. In fact, I had even managed to humiliate Griff in public - when he tried to sexually assult Harmony.'

'Their real names are actually Rafe Unger, Chester Nogura, and Leslie O'Malley,' added Harmony. 'With Leslie's bionic implants, she's just as tough and strong as the rest of the gang. They are a dreadful bunch, for sure!'

'Oh, yes,' replied Doc, 'those were the same names that were in the Hill Valley Edition of USA Today, when the headline changed from Youth Jailed to Gang Jailed. Come to think of it, I'm probably a little more amazed by how much the future has stayed the same - than buy how much has changed. Of course, it's great that Marty and I are both headed towards happier futures.'

'For the most part, yeah,' agreed Marty Jr, nodding. 'I am very concerned about Marlene, though. I mean, she is a very nice girl - and she isn't a snob or anything. It's just that her personality is a bit different from mine, and my father's. I remember how, as kids, we were all fans of Led Zeppelin. However, Marlene's tastes as of late tend to lean towards pop. She's not really into hard rock. She finds even bands like Huey Lewis and The News to be too noisy?'

'Wow, really?' Marty asked, shocked. 'I never really considered Huey Lewis and The News to be hard rock. They're more like a new wave style of rock. So what does she think of bands like U2 and REM? I don't think they're real noisy.'

'She does like them, somewhat,' Marty Jr explained, 'but they're not really her favourite style. From the '80s, she likes singers like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lionel Ritchie, Christopher Cross, and the like. From the '70s, she like Jim Croce, The Hollies, Gary Wright, Gerry Rapherty, Al Stewart, Rupert Holmes, Todd Rundgren, and stuff like that. She also loves Seals and Croft.'

'Well, those aren't really bad musicians,' Marty said, softly, 'but they aren't really my favourite. Their music is a little too quiet for my tastes. I prefer music that's upbeat and loud. Although, I do love Dream Weaver by Gary Wright. The song sometimes makes me cry, in fact - it's so beautiful.'

'Yeah, I like that song, too,' Marty Jr said, nodding, 'and I would much rather listen to those musicians - than listen to gangsta rap or the modern teeney pop. Modern to the twenty-teens, I mean.'

'Say, does Marlene listen to Simon and Garfunkel?' asked Marty.

'Oh, yes, I believe she does,' Marty Jr replied. 'I know our mom - your future wife - has a really soft spot for that duo.'

'Oh, yes, she does,' replied Marty. 'That's why I asked, in fact.' Then, turning to Doc, Marty continued, 'So where should we go from here - or, rather, when should we go? I mean, what year should we travel to?'

'I suppose we should head back to 2016 first,' suggested Doc, 'and see if your older self would be receptive to future treatments.'

'I know I should,' Marty said, 'so I assume my future self would be the same way.'

'Well, no, not necessarily,' protested Doc. 'Just like Marlene's taste in music has changed considerably as she got a little older - almost all of us tend to change our minds on various issues in the future. So you might feel differently on certain issues at 48 - then you do, now.' Then, turning to Marty Jr, Doc asked, 'Say, your dad doesn't still car-surf at 48, does he?'

Marty Jr then burst out laughing, and replied, 'Of course not! He may look a little younger than 48 with his rejuvie, but he certainly doesn't car-surf anymore. In fact, he doesn't even skateboard anymore - or hoverboard, for that matter.'

'See, Marty,' Doc said to Marty, gently, 'your son's answer right there proves my point. You're not still the same at 48, as you are now. Things about you will change, as you get older. That's why we have to ask your future self if he is receptive to treatments from the future.'

'Okay, Doc, I got it,' Marty said, smiling a little. 'I really don't want to die at 48. I would like to live a long and prosperous life.'

'Okay, then,' Harmony interjected, 'should we head back to 2016, then?'

'Yeah, sure,' replied Doc, 'now is as good a time as time. So what day and time did you come here from?'

'Uh,' replied Harmony, 'it was 1:37 PM of July 21, 2016.'

'Okay, then,' said Doc, 'we should probably arrive at 2:00 PM of that same day, then. You guys should return in the DeLorean you came in, and Marty and I will come join you in ours.'

'That sounds like a plan, Grandpa,' Harmony said, smiling.

'You're the doc, Doc,' added Marty Jr, smiling.