Today was supposed to be just another ordinary day when I would buy some French bread to eat with eggs, but the bakery had a small line. I waited, discreetly moving my feet (taking steps without leaving my spot) to help with circulation.

While waiting for my turn, I started daydreaming about soccer, imagining who I would buy to play for Corinthians if I were a billionaire who owned the club.

But, being observant as I am, I noticed a suspicious individual entering the establishment.

He was a man around 50 years old, looking withdrawn and scared. In a fraction of a second, I hesitated—was he someone with a problem or just a drug addict? The man approached, dressed in very old-fashioned clothes, and walked straight toward me. At that moment, I knew everyone was looking at me.

He stopped two handspans away, took off his glasses, squinted as if trying to confirm what he was seeing, placed his hand on my shoulder, and said, "It’s you... incredible... I don’t have much time, but... I’m your grandfather, whom you never met, and what you were thinking was right."

Man, it all happened in less than ten seconds, and I was hit with a mix of stomach pain and adrenaline. I started to ask a question, but he said he had to go and hurried out.

I ran after him, but on the sidewalk, all that remained was his glasses and his overcoat. I had already forgotten about the bread and who I would sign for Corinthians when those damn robotic dogs (which I thought only existed in China) began appearing by the dozens, maybe hundreds, while countless drones swarmed overhead.

I had no more doubts—it was the beginning of the age of machines.