let me tell you how history class was held
in my day, grandson–we didn’t have
those fancy greentooth implants you young people enjoy
we wore sensory caps over eyes, nose, ears, and scalp
and sensory tips on our fingers
we would blink twice in quick succession to 
activate, and the Earth would appear before us

the teachbot would direct us through
the ear piece which area to choose, and
we would find that place on the globe and
touch it to begin descent and
we would spin the globe
backwards to the date and time we were going
to absorb–all the sights and sounds and
smells of the time,
as generated by AI

by that time, humans had abandoned
objective records and embraced constructs

still, it was much better than what
your great-grandfather had in his school–
they used books–they called them “textbooks”–
but, yes, they were physical books with pages
and a cover–can you imagine?

so you see, grandson, humanity has certainly
advanced over the years
I wish we could talk about it, but you
cannot speak, so long as you remain
entwined with that Antares polymid.
I hope you’ll be fully bodyside in time for dinner.