Man 1: I had a dream that I met a girl in a dying world.
It was all coming apart. Hairline cracks in reality widened to yawning chasms. Everything was going dark and light all at once, and there was a sound like breaking waves rising into a piercing scream at the edge of hearing. I knew we didn't have long together.
She grabbed me and spoke a stream of numbers into my ear. Then it all went away.
[[A girl grabs him as the edges of the panel crack and tear]]
I woke up. The memory of the apocalypse faded to mere fancy, but the numbers burned bright in my mind. I wrote them down right away.
[[A note reads: 42.39561  -71.13051  2007 09 23  14 38 00]]
They were coordinates. A place and a time, neither one too far away.
Man 1: What else could I do? When the day came, I went to the spot and waited.
Man 2: ...and?
Man 1: It turns out wanting something doesn't make it real.
{{Alt-text: No matter how elaborately you fool yourself.}}