Elena waited anxiously at the meeting point in front of the Yuantong Temple gate. Standing outdoors on the high plateau that Kunming is situated on, the refreshing coolness of the breeze brought her senses alive. It was a stark contrast to the relentless heat of San Francisco, where stepping outdoors felt like entering an oven. In Kunming, despite it being the middle of July, the temperature was a comfortable 90F. 

Even more exciting than the cool weather was that Kevin was due any minute. She hadn’t seen Kevin, her ex-boyfriend, since MIT. After graduation, their paths diverged. Elena, driven to positively impact the world, joined tech giant Deprensa. Kevin joined a government agency to serve his country. While she publicly climbed the ladder in Silicon Valley, he disappeared into government work. Kevin didn’t even have a LinkedIn profile–a fact that intrigued her more than any corporate title could.

Not a word in years, and now, here she was waiting for him. A melody of unanswered questions coursed through her veins. Would he recognize her? Was he the same Kevin she remembered? 

“Elena!” 

His voice cut through the street noise, and she turned around. There he was, proudly standing in front of her. They embraced for a fleeting moment—long enough to show they were more than friends, but not long enough to express any flicker of lingering desire between them.

“You look the same!” Elena exclaimed. Yet Kevin was subtly different. Older. More restrained. But still handsome. As he talked, his eyes, deep and enigmatic, held hers and beckoned her inward, just as they had done before.

“Its been so many years! You look great!!” He smiled, showing he genuinely meant it. “So, Elena, Deprensa’s representative to the Red Mirror launch?!”

“We did pay for a chunk of this.” She beamed with pride, one based in her company, taking part in humanity’s greatest attempt to reverse climate change. “And how about you?”

“Chief Representative for the US Innovation Council,” he grinned. “Follow me. I’ve already got a place picked out for lunch. You’ll love it!”

She loved that about Kevin. How he took the initiative. Having grown up with constantly critical parents, she found herself often avoiding decision-making, relying on others to guide her. Her therapist pointed that out to her, but Elena had to admit she just found it more fun to follow others.

On the walk, their conversation flowed effortlessly. She marveled at his ability to easily meld charm and intellect. Talking to him felt like a complex dance of words that stirred her heart, ignited a forgotten longing. She felt an urge to dive into this tempestuous sea.

“A quiet table for two,” he asked in English. The wait staff immediately understood. Everyone everywhere wore an AI earpiece these days. Over the last ten years, as the earth grew hotter, AI continued its steady advance into every niche of human existence.

They ate and caught up on things. The little compliments, his attention to detail, made her feel giddy. 

His breadth of knowledge was amazing. He explained the history of the city and of the Flying Tigers, an American air force wing stationed in the city in World War 2. There was a museum in Kunming he visited the day before.

He ate a piece of steak. Something about that felt odd. Then she remembered, he was a vegan back in university, would never let up about it. 

“You eat meat now?” she asked softly.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing, you didn’t before.”

“I don’t remember that.”

In university, at first, she thought him being vegan wasn’t a big deal. Who cares? Opposites attract and all that. But when you live together, differences get magnified. He needed to explain the negatives about eating meat at every meal.

“Okay.” She winked at him.

He shrugged, and said, “They taught us that moral flexibility is important.”

“Who taught you?”

“My training manager,” he said. “Elena, I wanted to say this all lunch, but you would look even more stunningly beautiful if you sat up a little straighter.”

She pulled herself up in her chair. He was right; she was always slumping down. Now she was an important manager she should present herself better.

After lunch, they strolled, until they stood before the Jinma Biji Archway. It was beautiful. Its intricate carvings whispered of the secrets of powerful dynasties past. 

“Let’s take a selfie,” he suggested, pulling out his phone. She agreed, but wondered if this would make his wife jealous. 

Mark adjusted the angle, framing them against the arch. As he held her shoulder , his touch lingered, and she leaned into him. After a playful nudge, she lost her balance. She grabbed his arm, and they both tumbled to the ground. The camera clicked.

“Are you ok?” he pulled her up, his eyes crinkling with amusement. She nodded and brushed off her blouse. 

He opened the selfie in his mobile and burst out laughing. In the photo, a bystander stood behind them with a horrified expression, obviously reacting to them falling. His stunned face looked like something out of a horror film.

It was hilarious. It reminded her of their university days–the reckless fun they had.

“I need to change clothes,” she said, looking at her now dusty pants. “I’ve got a nice suite at the Shangri-La.” She left the invitation hanging in the air.

“The Shangri-La? A hotel for a Deprensa manager, not a public servant,” he teased.

She gave him her best come-hither look.

His gaze shifted to his left hand, the one with a wedding ring. “I can’t,” he said.

With Kevin, trying to push was pointless. He enjoyed deciding things. She suddenly wanted to escape the awkwardness of it all. “Well then, tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow morning. It will be an amazing sight!” He kissed her on the cheek and walked away without looking back. The afternoon hadn’t turned out the way she thought it would.

Back at her suite at the Shangri-La, she briefly checked work messages, then swallowed a sleeping pill for the jet lag. A heavy darkness enveloped her.

An instant later, morning sunshine shattered her slumber. A piercing beam of sunlight shone through the window. She had forgotten to close the curtains last night. The clock read 6:32 am. She might as well get up.

“Please brew me a coffee,” she called out to the room. 

“Your coffee will arrive in three minutes,” an automated voice replied.

After brushing her teeth, she opened the door, took the steaming cup from the hotel robot, and prepared for the day. The Red Mirror release awaited–a momentous event. They were always done in the early morning, less internal air pressure, the right wind speeds, or something like that.

The 7:15am shuttle bus collected the attendees–a small crowd of journalists and corporate representatives from around the world. By 7:45am they were at the launch site, receiving a briefing. This project cost 24 trillion RMB, brought together a scientific team from 44 countries, and showcased China’s scientific progress. She’s heard it all many times before.

She scanned the crowd, worried he wouldn’t show. Then she saw him. Her heart skipped a beat as she silently slipped in behind him.

“Morning,” she purred. “This is amazing. Hope for humanity.” She grabbed his hand. During such a historic event, rules could be bent.

“Morning to you too–” They were interrupted by the commencement of the launch sequence. Elena removed her AI earpiece and listened in Chinese.

“San, er, yi, fashe.”

Two hundred million aluminum balloons began to ascend. As this mass pulled air upward, she felt a rush of wind against her face. The sky transformed, darkened by their sheer multitude. The crowd gasped, caught between awe and trepidation. These balloons, filled with hydrogen, were as potentially explosive as the Hindenburg. They said it was safe, but she knew one spark could lead to disaster. The world had run out of helium a long time ago, and this was the only alternative.

As the minutes passed, everything around them grew colder. She knew, like a real solar eclipse, the effect was short-lived.

“This one release will in the long run lower the world’s temperature by 0.4C,” she declared.

“But it hasn’t been proven,” Mark interjected unexpectedly.

Elena followed the scientists who measured the Earth’s gradual cooling over the past eighteen months since China began the Red Mirror Project. Conspiracy theorists dismissed it as part of Earth’s natural cycle. Was Mark one of the skeptics?

“You don’t believe in the science? Mr Innovation Council?”

“More importantly, the future of the free world depends on America’s leadership in climate change.” 

Elena didn’t know what to say. NASA’s abandoned Eclipse project was years away from any chance of being restarted. She remembered what he said about moral flexibility yesterday, a flexibility that oddly didn’t seem to include her.

“Love it or hate it. The project benefits the planet,” she said.

“I think,” he retorted, “you don’t understand how the world works.”

Their arguments in university echoed in her mind. The discussions where she demanded he listen to her opinions, stop trying to win every argument. But she had matured since then.

“Sure, maybe I don’t everything. There could be other factors in play.” Unlike in university, she now was a senior management role in Deprensa, and was expecting a call. In the darkness, her mobile screen came to life, displaying the CEO’s name: Sanjay Chopra. She answered.

“Congratulations, Elena! We’re updating our landing pages,” the famous voice exclaimed, filled with enthusiasm. Deprensa’s homepage transformed into an animation of Red Mirror’s balloons ascending into a sunny sky, alongside the slogan ‘Hope for Humanity’.

Mark glanced at it. “Work calls,” he mumbled, and walked away. She was left standing alone, confused. She eventually found another familiar face from Silicon Valley in the crowd and started making her rounds.

Hours later, Elena sat at the airport, waiting to be escorted to Deprensa’s plane. Scanning the news, she saw American media outlets begin to publish their stories:

• Expert Cast Doubts On Red Mirror’s Effectiveness.
• China’s History Of Scientific Failures.
• Chinese Farmers Complain Of Environmental Impact

Beneath the last headline, a familiar face stood out–the startled man who watched their tumble in the city. She and Mark were cropped out of the picture. Taken out of context, the photo looked like something out of a horror film.

It was becoming clear that Mark wasn’t on the same page on this. Not the same page at all. Yet, with Red Mirror’s success, and Sanjay’s unwavering commitment to climate change, she felt invincible. 

The next day, back in scorching California, she texted Mark, using the number he had contacted her on: I’m back in California. Amazing scene, wasn’t it? The Red Mirror project has just begun.

A second later, her phone flashed: Message Undelivered.

Unbelievable. He used her? Well, that didn’t matter now. She was still here, and she felt good. Like having a crutch removed and still standing on your two feet, she felt a new confidence. Screw him. She returned to her calendar and began planning a full of interviews and publicity talks. “Make the world a cooler place”. Could that be Deprensa’s new slogan? She input the slogan into her mobile, entered the CEO’s chat room, and hit send.