Welcome To Quantum Holidays

CHAPTER 7 (PART II): WHO WANTS TO BE A TIME TRAVELER?

"Contestants, are you ready!?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, Cassandra, pull the lever!"

Cassandra pulls the lever once more. Again, the entire studio goes dark apart from the large television screen. There is the loud bang and the flashing images stop on the words The Pyramid. The lights come up and again the contestants have disappeared from the time machine.

"Oh! That's one of my favorites. Here's Larry with more on The Pyramid."

"The Pyramid is an event that presents a challenge both mentally and physically. Placing our contestants in the sandals of Ancient Egyptian builders trapped inside the pharoah's tomb, they must escape by solving puzzles and avoiding traps before the pyramid is sealed off forever."

As Larry explains, a video demonstration plays. There is the outside of a large sandy pyramid. A group of worried looking contestants is shown trapped in the pharaoh's tomb. They show a contestant struggling to solve a puzzle and another stepping onto a booby-trapped tile and falling into a pool of water beneath. The original exterior image of the pyramid reappears along with the words The Pyramid. After the video has ended, Frank Sacramento and Cassandra are sat in a couple of fold-out deck chairs, drinking cocktails in front of the pyramid.

"Whilst Cassandra and I are catching a few rays and enjoying some refreshments, our contestants are currently trapped in the middle of the pyramid."

The camera cuts to a dimly crypt where our five contestants are carefully exploring the room.

"There they are! In a few moments, Cassandra will press her remote and the exit will open. A siren will be heard and the timer will begin. The contestants will then have to make their way outside before the timer runs out and the exit closes again. So, if you don't mind, will you do the honors, Cassandra?"

Cassandra smiles and presents the remote with one hand. With the other hand, she drops one dainty finger and presses down on the button emphatically. A siren blares. The exit to the temple opens, as does the exit to the tomb. The contestants step gingerly out of the crypt room and into the rest of the pyramid.

"Our contestants have reached the first challenge."

The contestants enter a large chamber room. Ahead of them are six doors. Above each of them are six portraits of women. The portraits look very old. In the middle of the room, resting on a pedestal is an envelope. Jessica takes it as the others inspect the doors and portraits. She opens the envelope and reads aloud the note that is inside.

"Above the door stand King Henry's wives. Avoid those whom he saw dead, follow those that survive, and along that path be lead."

The contestants crowd around Jessica to see what is written. A heated discussion breaks out between them. Eventually, Chad quiets the group and speaks.

"It's obviously referring to King Henry VIII. Those six women are his six wives. The letter is saying to avoid going through the doors with the portraits of the wives that died and to go through the doors with the portraits of the wives that survived."

The group nod in agreement and return to the doors. On the frame of each portrait are the names Aragon, Parr, Cleeves, Seymour, Boleyn, and Howard. Each contestant appears to have their own opinion on the fates of the wives of the Tudor king.

"Great spot by Chad there, but will our contestants remember who was 'divorced, beheaded, died' and who was 'divorced, beheaded, survived'?"

The contestants settle on doors. Troy chooses Aragon, Chad chooses Parr, Jessica chooses Cleeves, and Gabrielle chooses Howard. Hank seems at a loss, but at the last moment joins Gabrielle and goes through the door with her.

"The contestants have chosen their fates. I won't reveal the answers, but I'm sure the history buffs at home know what's coming up."

Chad walks into a long room with a door at the end of it. He tries the handle and it opens. Troy and Jessica find themselves in similar rooms. They both try their doors and they open. Gabrielle and Hank approach their door, Gabrielle gives it a try. Instead of it opening, however, the floor beneath their feet gives way. The pair plunges into a pool of water several feet below.

"Oh, double whammy! Gabrielle was wrong to choose Howard, and Hank was wrong to trust Gabrielle. Catherine Howard was Henry the VIII's fifth wife and was beheaded for adultery.

Anyway, the show must go on! Our remaining three contestants have each entered their next rooms, where they must complete a complex puzzle. Let's join Chad and see how he's getting on."

In a small room, Chad is on his hands and knees busy arranging some large stone tablets. On the tablets are the images of American presidents with their names inscribed. In the middle of the room is a large circular table, which resembles a sundial. On the table already placed is a tablet of George Washington and Ronald Reagan. In between, there are many empty spaces.

"Chad has to organize the tables in the chronological order they were President and place them in their correct space on the table. If he succeeds, the next door will be unlocked. If he fails, the floor beneath will open up."

As Frank Sacramento finishes speaking, Chad seems to have settled on an order and begins placing the tablets in their place. He completes the circle and waits with baited breath.

"He's finished. That was quick, but was it right? Let's have a little look. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison. That's fine. Jackson, Lincoln, Grant. Great. Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Harding. Wait! That's wrong! He's mixed up Coolidge and Harding. Oh no!"

Chad looks around worriedly. Suddenly, the floor disappears from beneath him and he falls into the dark water below.

"So close for poor Chad. Well, that leaves us with just two, Troy and Jessica. And looking at the other rooms, they've both successfully completed their puzzles. They now must overcome a number of obstacles, and don't forget, the clock is ticking."

Jessica emerges into a long corridor. Up ahead is a narrow bridge of rotating foam cylinders above a pool of water.

"It's Jessica who reaches the obstacle course first."

Jessica stands at the edge of the platform, looking carefully at the cylinders, trying to judge when to make her move. With just a few steps as a run-up, she charges forward. The first one she skips across without much difficulty, but on the second she loses her balance. She manages to correct herself enough to make it to the third and final cylinder and as she does, she leaps into the air towards the platform edge. Her landing is sloppy, but she is able to drag herself up to safety.

"That's amazing stuff. Come on, Jessica!"

Jessica stands up and places her hands on the top of her head. She catches her breath as she paces side to side weighing up the next obstacle. In front of her is a Tarzan rope hanging over the edge of another pool of water. Jessica doesn't seem convinced she will be able to make it.

"Come on, Jessica! Be positive. You can do it."

Jessica takes the rope between her hands and leans as far back as she can before sprinting forward and moving off the platform.

"Atta girl!"

Jessica looks to have made it. Her momentum is good as she swings towards the safety of the other side. She swings close to the platform edge, but she hesitates and misses her moment. The rope swings back, but she has lost her momentum. She sways side to side until she comes to a stop in the center of the pool. Exasperated and without any other choice, Jessica lets go of the rope and drops into the water.

"What a shame. She might have made it too if she had just let go of the rope when she first swung over."

Back at the beginning of the obstacle course, Troy is crouched, quietly watching the rotating cylinders.

"Here's Troy, our last contestant. He will be hoping to go one step further than Jessica."

Troy rises and prepares his run up. He hurtles towards the cylinders and with great speed and agility manages to make it all the way across in four light steps. He stops on the next platform to take hold of the rope that been reset in its place.

"Great start by Troy, but how will he handle this? You just have to know the right moment to let go of the rope. A moment too soon or a moment too late and you're in the water."

Troy rocks backward and forward on the rope a few times before pulling the rope back as far as he can. Bursting forward he flings himself over the pool. As he comes up on the other side, he lets go just as the rope begins to move back towards the water. He lands clumsily on the platform. Steadying himself, he raises a fist in the air triumphantly.

"That's fantastic stuff from Troy. He's nearly there now. The exit is just up head."

Troy carries on through the next door. Up ahead he is able to see the orange glow of the false Egyptian daylight. Excited, he jogs towards the exit. As he steps out from under the doorway, however, he sets in motion a large boulder from a ramp above. Troy hears the rumblings of the boulder and begins to move faster.

"Watch out Troy, here it comes!"

The boulder falls from the ramp above the door and hits the ground hard, rolling towards the contestant in blue. Seeing this, Troy gallops ahead to avoid the huge foam boulder. The light up ahead grows as the boulder gains on him.

"He's going to have to go faster. The boulder is right behind him!"

As he nears the pyramid exit, he feels the boulder nipping at his heels. In desperation, he dives forward into the daylight. Troy ends up face down in the thinly spread sand on the set floor. When he lifts his head he sees the brightly painted toe nails of Cassandra and the shining white shoes of Frank Sacramento. He slowly rises to his feet, brushing the sand from his spandex as he does. He comes face to face with the presenter's wide smile.

"Congratulations, Troy! You're through to the final round."

Frank Sacramento is back in the studio with Troy stood inert next to him.

"So, after a heart-pumping round in The Pyramid, Troy has emerged as our finalist. And if your sat at home wishing you were in Troy's shoes right now with a chance to win a pair of Quantum Holidays tickets, all you have to do is answer the following question. In what country is the Quantum Holidays time travel facility situated? Is it A, United States, B, Brazil, or C, Kazakhstan?

If you think you know the answer, call the number at the bottom of the screen right now. All correct answers will be placed into the draw and the winners will be announced at the end of the show. Prices may vary depending on the network provider."

Along the bottom of the screen is a telephone number. Beneath it, moving at a speed that no one could possibly read, callers are informed that phone calls cost $5 per minute.

"Let's get back to tonight's show. Troy, you've done extremely well so far, but you still have one final event to face. Do you fancy your chances?"

"Well, we've had two tough events so far, and I've managed to scrape through. I've come too far now to go home empty-handed. I want that holiday!"

"That's the spirit! Well, if you head on over to the time machine once more, we will find out what the final event is."

Troy jogs over to the time machine and stands inside awaiting his fate.

"Okay, Cassandra, pull the lever."

Cassandra pulls the lever one final time. The studio plunges into darkness, occasionally illuminated by the flashing images of the large television screen. The bang is heard and the images stop at the words The Inquisition. When the lights come up, Troy is nowhere to be seen.

"Oh dear, Troy would have wanted to avoid that one. Here's Larry with more information."

"Rather him than me, Frank. The Inquisition has seen even the toughest contestants crack. Placing our contestants at the height of the Spanish Inquisition, they go before The Inquisitor to answer his quickfire questions. A single wrong answer and they can kiss goodbye to their dreams of time travel.

As Larry speaks, a video demonstration shows a dark and medieval castle at night lit by torches. Inside, a solitary man in a dimly lit room sits behind a large imposing desk. His face is veiled with a black cloak. The camera closes in on a burning candle on The Inquisitor's desk and the words The Inquisition appears on the screen. When the video ends, Frank is stood outside a large set of iron doors with Troy.

"On the other side of this door is the terrifying Inquisitor. Are you sure you want to go through with this? You can still turn back."

"No way, Frank. I'm not scared of The Inquisitor."

"Good man. Then, when you are ready, step through the doors and face The Inquisition."

Frank Sacramento steps out of view. Troy turns to face the doors and enters the room. Inside is The Inquisitor sat behind his grand table in his large, throne-like chair. The room is dark apart from a couple of candles on the table. With his face hidden by the hood, The Inquisitor speaks.

"You have been summoned for trial and questioning. Should you fail to answer any of my questions correctly you will be condemned as guilty. Do you understand, heathen?"

"I understand."

"Good, then we shall begin."

"In what city was the US President John F. Kennedy assassinated?"

Troy does not take long to respond.

"I'm pretty certain that's Dallas."

"Correct. Name three of the twelve plagues that were said to be visited upon the Egyptians by God until the pharaoh freed the Israelites?"

The contestant takes a moment to ponder the question before answering.

"He killed the firstborn of every family. Unless they had a red cross painted on the door. He also sent a ton of frogs to bother them."

"That is only two. Give me one more answer, quickly."

"He made all the water turn into blood," adds Troy excitedly.

"Correct. Complete the title of this William Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's...?"

"Oh, I know this. Let me think. Is it A Midsummer's Night's Dream?"

"Correct. The Chinese Revolution happened in the year 1907. True or false?"

"I've no idea," Troy mutters to himself. He places his hands over his eyes, trying to decide.

"Answer me now. True or false?"

"False!"

The Inquisitor hesitates before responding.

"Correct. This is your final question. If you answer correctly, you will be free to go. In what year did Stanley Mandeville discover time travel?"

"I'm pretty sure it's 2020?"

There is a long silence. The Inquisitor does not respond and Troy puts his hand to his mouth anxiously.

"Correct."

The four dark walls of The Inquisitor's room collapse exposing the bright flashing lights of the studio. Cheesy celebratory music is played. Hundreds of multi-colored balloons and confetti fall from the studio rafters. Frank Sacramento, closely followed by Cassandra, joins Troy in the middle of the stage. Troy is holding his head in disbelief and there is what looks like tears in his eyes. Frank Sacramento gives him a hug and Troy, overcome with emotion, clings on to him tightly swaying side to side. Eventually, Frank Sacramento manages to break free from the contestant.

"Congratulations, Troy! You've won two tickets for a Quantum Holiday trip of a lifetime."

"Oh, man! This is amazing. I can't believe this is happening."

"Well, you better start believing! Where are you thinking of heading?"

"Oh, man! I'm going to go on the Adventure package. That thing looks insane."

"Well, I'm sure you will enjoy it. Well played, Troy."

Frank Sacramento turns from Troy to the camera, which cuts the contestant out of the picture.

"For you folks at home who entered the competition to appear on next week's show, listen up. Remember we asked where the Quantum Holidays time travel facility is located? The answer is, of course, C, Kazakhstan. Our computer has randomly selected fifteen lucky winners and their names should be appearing along the bottom of the screen right now. So if you answered correctly, keep your eyes peeled!"

The names of the winners scroll across the bottom of the screen. In the background, Cassandra and Troy wave aimlessly as the balloons and confetti fall around them.

"Finally, we would just like to take a moment to thank our sponsors, Quantum Holidays, for their amazing support. Remember, with Quantum Holidays, 'it's not a question of where you want to go, but when'.

That's it for tonight's show. See you all again next week for another edition of Who Wants To Be A Time Traveler? Good night, America!"