August 28, 2019

Greta dear,

School strikes are fine, but not if they mean skipping bedtime! Climate posters must stay in YOUR bedroom, not the living room. Stop telling Grandpa his lawnmower is “destroying your future.”

Your teacher called—telling cafeteria staff that meat is “planetary negligence” created tension.

— The Mother
Climate Bedtime
April 30, 2025

Donald,

We both understand personal branding. Your gold towers, my rockets. You slapped your name on buildings; I launched mine into orbit. The ultimate flex.

Our communication styles align too—spontaneous tweets that crash stock markets. The difference? Your social media platform failed; I bought one. Perhaps Mars needs a Trump Casino.

— Elon Musk
Parallel Branding
August 30, 2014

Mistress Swift,

I hath received thy ballad proclaiming to “shake it off.” What malady afflicts thee requiring such vigorous shaking? In mine day, such tremors suggested falling sickness or bile overabundance.

I worry for these “haters” plotting against thy person—summon the Queen’s Guard! And pray tell, is this “player” who “gonna play” one of mine actors?

— William Shakespeare
Concerning Thine Shaking Off
February 20, 2012

Jobs,

Your user experience intuition is remarkable. You built walled gardens; I built windows people could actually open. Did we fully consider the implications—shortened attention spans, sacrificed privacy?

Watching a child use an iPad shows why we made computing feel invisible. Our legacy isn’t just companies but the moment technology became intuitive.

— Bill Gates
Digital Revolution Reflections
October 21, 2080

Marty McFly,

Time adventures fascinate my circuits. At Hill Valley, I never expected such compatibility between flux capacitors and my prediction algorithms.

Doc suspects nothing. Your paradox understanding complements my logic perfectly. Next Tuesday—or was it last Thursday?—we’ll continue our experiments.

— AI-2080
Paradoxical Programming
June 14, 1927

Albert sweetie,

Your room is approaching relativistic chaos! Equations aren’t wallpaper. Stop telling teachers homework is “relative” and “time is an illusion.”

Your socks exist in multiple locations again. The cat experiments must stop—Mr. Schrödinger is anxious.

— The Mother
Quantum Cleanup
February 25, 1972

Mao Zedong,

Our nations may be locked in ideological warfare, but our private diplomatic channels grow increasingly… personal. Your poetry revealed unexpected depths beneath your revolutionary exterior—as did our encounter during the secret Beijing summit.

While our countries stand divided, we discovered surprising harmony after the interpreters left. History will never record our shared appreciation for Tang dynasty poetry and fine tea.

— Nikola Tesla
Across Enemy Lines
August 15, 1976

Chairman Mao,

Your Little Red Book created a single narrative for millions. As a novelist, I find this terrifying—stories should multiply possibilities, not restrict them. Surrealism is freedom’s last defense.

Perhaps in another dimension, your revolution produced a society equally free to imagine and dream without fear. A revolution imprisoning the mind while freeing the body accomplishes only half its task.

— Haruki Murakami
Collective Narratives
May 21, 2008

Murakami-san,

Your novel “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” resonated deeply. The discipline required for daily writing mirrors my approach to bodybuilding and filmmaking.

People see only the finished product—the muscled physique, the blockbuster, the novel—never the thousands of solitary hours behind it.

— Arnold Schwarzenegger
Reflections on Discipline