Welcome To Quantum Holidays

CHAPTER 8: CHEERS TO TIME TRAVEL

The large passenger jet flew high above the clouds. Flanking the plan on either side were dragons. Their long, scaly bodies were brightly colored and moved through the air like snakes through grass. The name of the airline was visible on the side of the plane. It read Jade Dragon Airlines. At the bottom of the poster was a tagline. Making the Far East not so far away.

"We will be there in a few minutes, sir. The Quantum Holidays Lounge is at the end of the terminal."

Jack looked from the poster to the young man driving the buggy. The young man was smiling in the rear view mirror and Jack smiled back half-heartedly. The buggy zipped through the airport terminal and to the right, a view of the tarmac opened up. A jumbo jet was currently in taxi. It was dark outside, but he could still make out the logo of Tori Air on the side of the plane. A crane bird flying across the flag of the rising sun.

The buggy zoomed past a Puma Airways waiting lounge on the left, where a large congregation of Chinese school kids had decamped as they prepared to board their flight. A middle-aged woman stood at the head of the group trying to organize the students. She spoke quickly in a language Jack did not understand. Her fellow teacher held a small flag with Dongguan Sunny Days Summer School printed in both English and Chinese. The kids ignored the woman and spoke among themselves.

There was another poster on the wall. It showed an image of outer space. In the center was a huge five-pointed star. Inside the star was a man. He wore a glittering silver suit and his long purpler hair flowed in every direction. He hung on the star like Jesus Christ on the cross. Above, the text read Presenting the new album from Vincenzo Supernova and The Meteorites, Half-Man Half-Star, and below it read Featuring the number one smash hits Refugee Camp Revival and The Rag And Bone Man's Daughter. All Jack could think about was punching that Half-Man Half-Star square in the face.

After the Vincenzo Supernova poster, there was the Jade Dragon Airlines advertisement again and the posters began to repeat themselves on either side of the terminal. Jack felt like he was being besieged on all sides by dragons and half-men half-stars and he was relieved when the young driver finally stopped the buggy outside of the entrance to the Quantum Holidays Premier Lounge.

Stood at the entrance were two large, stern-looking men. They wore purple polo shirts with the Quantum Holidays logo emblazoned on the breast. Jack flashed his ticket and they stepped aside to allow him in. In the center of the lounge were groups of tables and chairs where several passengers sat around waiting for the flight. Along the right side ran a bar and to the left was the boarding gate that was yet to open. At the far end was a small stage where a woman was playing the piano. The entire lounge was draped in the corporate colors of purple and grey.

Jack went and sat at the bar. The bartender, who had been cleaning glasses, put down his cloth and approached Jack. He wore a white shirt with a purple tie.

"Good evening, sir. What can I get for you?"

"How about a single malt?"

"Certainly, sir."

As the bartender prepared his drink, Jack listened to the piano player. The music was soft and her voice gentle and unhurried. He thought he recognized the song, but he could not recall the name. The bartender returned with his drink. Jack took out his wallet to pay, but the bartender stopped him.

"Compliments of Quantum Holidays, sir."

Jack put back his wallet and held his glass up by the thick base towards the bartender in appreciation. He took a sip and felt it warm his throat. He tried to listen to the words of the music, but the lyrics he heard didn't make sense. He took another large drink of his whiskey. As he placed the glass down, a man brushed past behind him and took a seat further down the bar.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Buckle. A beer?" asked the bartender.

"That would be perfect, thanks Danny," replied the man.

"Coming right up."

The bartender placed a bottle of beer and a glass in front of the man. The man ignored the glass and drank straight from the bottle. Jack studied him as he drank. His hair was short and brown, yet his chin was covered in ginger stubble. He was dressed in a profoundly creased short-sleeved blue shirt, loose-fitting green khaki trousers, and a pair of black running shoes. If Jack had to guess, he would place the man in his mid-forties. He put the bottle down on the bar and looked at Jack sideways.

"First time traveling with Quantum Holidays?"

"Yep."

"This will be my seventh. I still like to have myself a drink or two before takeoff, mind."

"You obviously rate the service then."

"It comes with the job. I'm a journalist with Travel Monthly magazine. The name's Brian Buckle. Nice to meet you."

"Jack."

Buckle leaned out of his stool to shake hands with Jack and then moved to the place next to him.

"So, what trip are you going on?" asked Buckle.

"Well-"

"Wait, let me guess. The Adventure package?"

"No-"

"Inside the Oval Office?"

"No. I'm actually-"

Buckled looked at Jack like he was funny looking.

"Don't tell me it's the Christianity package, is it?"

"No. I'm going on the Honeymoon trip."

"Ah, congratulations!"

Buckle looked either side of Jack and then over his shoulder to the rest of the room.

"So where's the lucky lady?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. We broke up before the wedding."

"Sorry to heat that."

The song grew to a climax and finished. There was polite applause from the room.

"So you decided to come along for the trip anyway?"

"Well, they wouldn't give me a refund so I didn't have much choice. People keep telling me it will do me the world of good, but I can't see how a holiday can change anything."

The piano player thanked the audience. She began to talk about love at first sight, true loves or first loves, Jack wasn't sure. As she spoke she played the piano, preparing for the next song. She dedicated it to the couples in the audience.

Buckle took a long swig of beer before speaking.

"I know what they told you is probably clichéd, but there's some truth in what they said. You can't look at this like just any other holiday. It's so much more than that. I mean, I've sat in the Forum in Ancient Athens and listened to Aristotle and Plato speak. I've been in the White House whilst JFK negotiated the Cuban Missile Crisis. How do you go back to sitting on a sun lounger beside a pool after you've see that? Holiday isn't the right word for it. It isn't adequate. Maybe voyage or pilgrimage is more apt. Heck, maybe they need to invent a new word to describe it altogether. All I know is that this sort of holiday can change a man."

Buckle played with his bottle thoughtfully before finishing the last of it.

"Maybe they're right. This could be just what you need."

The bartender came up and asked if they would like fresh drinks. They would. They sipped away while they listened to the music.

"So you say this is your seventh trip? Who pays for it all? The magazine?"

"Ha! God, no! My magazine couldn't afford to shell out that sort of money. No, Quantum Holidays give complimentary tickets to the magazine."

"But doesn't that kind of compromise the integrity of the review?"

Buckle laughed.

"It most certainly does. You're not wrong there, buddy. That being said, I've genuinely loved every trip I've been on so far, so even if others think I'm lying, at least I know I'm writing the truth."

"How do I know that you aren't just saying that because they've given you another free holiday?" asked Jack with a rare smile.

Buckle pointed his beer at Jack and winked.

"You don't."

Buckle drank further from his bottle. Jack slouched forward lazily. He looked past the journalist and down the bar and out into the dark. Zigzagging above the airport were the flashing lights of planes landing and planes taking off. He joined them up in the night sky like constellations.

Buckle carried on.

"The thing is, Quantum Holidays has come along and turned the whole tourism industry on its head. Sure, at the moment, only the richest can afford to travel with them, but that hasn't stopped companies panicking. All people want to do these days is go time traveling. Suddenly, a holiday in the sun or a romantic weekend break just doesn't cut it. If Stanley Mandeville can make time travel readily available to the masses whilst maintaining his monopoly on the technology, then Quantum Holidays will swallow up the entire tourism industry."

Three high pitched beeps echoed over the premium lounge. The piano player stopped playing, the passengers stopped talking, and everyone looked around to hear the announcement.

"Attention, all passengers wishing to board Quantum Holidays Flight 316 to Belukha, will you please make your way to the departure gate now. Attention, all passengers wishing to board Quantum Holidays Flight 316 to Belukha, will you please make your way to the departure gate now. Thank you."

The passengers gathered their belongings and headed towards the gate that had just been opened by two flight stewardesses dressed in the familiar purple blazers. Buckle stood up.

"That's us."

He picked up his beer and held it aloft towards Jack to cheers.

"To time travel!"