Welcome To Quantum Holidays

CHATPER 5: TOUGH TALK WITH STANLEY MANDEVILLE

"Welcome back to Tough Talk. I'm Caroline Vasquez. If you are just tuning in, I am joined tonight by Stanley Mandeville, founder and president of Quantum Holidays."

In a darkened studio, two leather armchairs are placed facing each other. A beam of bright light shines down on both chairs. In one chair sits Caroline Vasquez, an attractive but serious looking woman in her thirties. In the other chair sits Stanley Mandeville, a slender old man sharply dressed with his thin grey hair carefully combed.

"Mr. Mandeville, in recent months, nations such as China and Russia have grown increasingly impatient with your unwillingness to share your time travel technology and the US Government's failure to compel you to do so. Now, there are growing calls inside Congress, on both sides of the aisle I might add, to force you to reveal your secrets for the greater good of humanity. How do you justify keeping your monopoly on this technology?"

"I must admit, Caroline, that I have never quite understood politicians. All those years ago, when we were first trying to invent time travel, the government did not wish to have anything to do with me. They turned down grant application after grant application and refused meeting after meeting. What we achieved, we achieved by ourselves. So I can't help but feel it's somewhat rich to see these politicians today that are demanding that we simply hand over what is rightfully ours because it is supposedly for the benefit of mankind.

The real question here is, in fact, how is it for the benefit of mankind to give time travel to the government? What would they do with a time machine that we are not already doing? Are they going to allow people to time travel for free? I can assure you right now that they cannot afford to. The US Government can't even afford to give people basic health care.

The government wants time travel to pursue their own agenda. It will not be for the benefit of your average citizen. I am sure the military would like to get their hands on a time machine though. It would not be long before we would have covert operations being launched and wars being fought in the past. Understand that the moment the governments of the world get their hands on this technology, that's when we should all really start to worry. I would sooner destroy the technology than hand it over to any government."

"But do you not every worry that a Government agency or even a rival company might make a time machine of their own, with or without your help? Now that you have proven it is possible, is it not almost inevitable that someone will eventually follow in the same footsteps?"

"Logically speaking, when something has been proven to be possible, it is only a matter of time before it is repeated. I would add, however, that just because something has been proven possible, it does not necessarily mean it is likely to happen again. They say if you put an infinite amount of monkeys in a room with a typewriter that they will eventually write Shakespeare. I should clarify that I am not claiming to be the Shakespeare of quantum physics, but what I will say is that inventing time travel is no small feat.

I am not embarrassed to admit that it is something I have thought about in the past, but it is not something I worry over. If someone comes along and demands that we give them our technology, then we are going to fight them tooth and nail for it. If someone comes up with the same technology, however, through hard graft and scientific enterprise, then I would be the first to congratulate them.

I would have a huge well of respect for that person because I know how much it takes. Whether they would then be able to compete with what Quantum Holidays has to offer is a whole different matter, but I would not harbor any ill will towards them, certainly not."

"Do you not think it is unfair that time travel is exclusive to only the mega-rich? Doesn't your average American family deserve a chance to experience this scientific miracle just as much as say, a Russian billionaire oligarch?

"It's my dream that one day, time travel will be available to every man, woman, and child on this planet, but ultimately our prices are tied to our costs. Running a business like this is not cheap and we charge what we have to so we are able to operate.

That being said, we are working tirelessly to reduce our costs and in turn, our prices. I believe that in the future, a trip with Quantum Holidays will be affordable for your average Joe on the street. I really do. For now, people have to be patient. When air travel first came about we had exactly the same situation. Only the super rich could afford to fly, but now it is universally available. You can expect the same thing to happen in time travel. People just have to be patient."

"You have come in for a lot of criticism over your controversial Christianity package. Those on the left claim that it is little more than global Christian propaganda and mass evangelicalism on a never-before-seen scale. On the other hand, you have those on the right who criticize you for exploiting people's religious views for financial gain. How do you respond to these accusations?"

"Well, what is there to say? They claim I'm some sort of brainwashing preacher whilst at the same time they call me a money grabbing atheist. You know, you can't win with some people.

But, let me just say this. Are airlines that offer flights to Mecca exploiting people's religious beliefs? Are hotels in Rome taking advantage of Catholics? Just like them, we offer an opportunity for people to celebrate their faith. We give them a chance to bear witness to what they have always believed but had never seen. I've had grown men come up to me in tears of joy, thanking me for removing their doubt and letting them finally believe with all their hearts. How can that be a bad thing? I am proud of our Christianity package, more so than anything else we have done at Quantum Holidays.

And these claims that I am some sort of Christian propagandist are really quite ridiculous. I've never once spoken about my own religious views. I've never said I believe in one God or another and I've always respected a person's right to practice whatever it is they believe in.

In fact, right now our top scientists are currently working hard at developing Islam and Buddhist holiday packages, and we are hoping to have them operational within the next few years. I have a great belief that those packages will be as successful as the Christianity package.

I'm not some preacher man. I'm just grateful to give any person a chance to celebrate their faith, regardless of their religious denomination."

"The development of Islam and Buddhist packages will interest a lot of people, I'm sure. What else does the future hold for Quantum Holidays?"

"We are always looking for fresh and interesting places for our customers to visit. This year saw the introduction of the Christianity and The Age of Dinosaurs packages and I feel they represent real progress. As I have said already, we are currently working on Islam and Buddhist travel packages following the same format of the Christianity trip. We are also looking at introducing more Asian and African based experiences as our customer base continues to grow around the globe.

Ultimately, my aim is to one day move away from our set packages and allow customers to create their own bespoke trips. More importantly, we will persevere to find ways to make our holidays more affordable and more accessible to the population at large."

"Your passion and energy for the company seem as strong as ever, Mr. Mandeville. I'm guessing there are no plans for retirement just yet?"

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself! Quantum Holidays is my life. I'll retire from this company when I die."