Welcome To Quantum Holidays

CHAPTER 2: THE BUTTERFLY DEPOSIT

From the steps of the temple, he could see everything from the fire that the people danced around, the miles and miles of jungle, the waves lapping on the shore, all the way to the setting sun. He looked at it with envy as it sank beneath the sea.

"Jack, come on."

His eyes wandered from the setting sun to the words printed above. Why not try something different?

"Jack, come on. I want to take a photo for RealWorld."

Jack looked away from the poster on the wall to feel his fiancé leaning against his face and holding her phone up in front of them. He turned to her.

"Please can we do it later, Rose?"

She stared at the phone with her face locked in a pose. She didn't look at him whilst she spoke.

"You never want to take photos. Are you ashamed of me?"

Jacked looked around the reception. Everything was gleaming white from the floors and the walls to the receptionist's teeth. The only thing that wasn't was the company's purple logo behind the receptionist's desk. Two circles wrapped around the initials Q and H to form an infinity loop. To the right was a middle-aged faded beauty with her face hidden behind sunglasses and her neck wrapped in fur. She flicked through a fashion magazine, ignoring the articles and looking at the pictures. To the left was an Arab dressed in white. On his head, he wore a red and white shemagh, to which he held a phone. The Arab spoke loudly in a language that Jack did not understand.

"Is that what you are saying, Jack? That you are ashamed of me."

Jack looked at the phone and forced a smile.

"No, I'm not ashamed. Let's take a photo."

Click. Click. Click. Rose checked the photos and Jack looked over her shoulder to see. He saw himself and felt old. At least older than he should. His hair was black, but there were more grey hairs than there should be for a thirty-year-old. He was like his father in that respect at least. His face looked tired. When he was younger they used to say he looked like a movie star or that he should be a model. In recent years, they had said that less often. And when did he start to smile like that? He was sure he used to smile like a normal person.

As he tried to understand his smile, the image changed as Rose used the beauty app on her phone. His grey hairs turned to black. His face more closely resembled that of a movie star. His smile even looked less weird.

It was hard to see any change to Rose's face. She looked the same as she did before she used the app. There was her long black hair, her perfect white skin, her full red lips. If she wasn't so beautiful then he would be angry at her for being such a cliché.

Rose uploaded it to her RealWorld and typed a message. At Quantum Holidays to book our honeymoon. When Jack saw the message he reached for her phone.

"Please don't send that, Rose. My father might see it."

The message had already been sent. Rose laughed.

"I don't think your father checks my RealWorld."

"Perhaps not, but someone from the company will see it."

Rose had already begun to scroll through other users messages on RealWorld.

"Why does it matter? He's going to find out eventually anyway."

Jack started to speak, but then stopped. Rose was right. Sooner or later, his father would find out what they were doing for their honeymoon. Jack would just prefer it if he was hundreds of years in the past and out of his father's reach when he did.

Rose continued to browse through RealWorld and Jack picked up a magazine from the table. It was a recent copy of Business Weekly. On the cover was a man in his late forties with slick blond hair in a sharp dark suit. Jack read the title. Michel Lizarazu. The Quantum Holidays Vice President speaks about the past, present, and future of time travel.

"Mr. Sinclair?"

Jack heard his name being called and looked up. The receptionist with spotless white teeth smiled at him.

"Miss Connelly is ready to see you now."

---

He stared at the stegosaurus grazing in the lush green grass and noted how peaceful they appeared. Meanwhile, a triceratops was splashing about in a river. He read the tagline. See what no man has ever seen, until now.

Jack heard a noise and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked from the poster and turned to Rose.

"So, what do you think, Jack?" repeated Rose.

Jack looked from his fiancé to Miss Rebecca Connelly, who was sat on the other side of the desk. Her striking red hair contrasted starkly with the purple blazer she wore. The Quantum Holidays sales representative gave no indication of what they were talking about. Eventually, Rose rescued him.

"Miss Connelly was just asking if we would be interested in visiting the dinosaurs."

Miss Connelly seized the opportunity to jump in.

"Yes, our newest package is The Age of Dinosaurs. You may have heard about it in the press."

She pulled open a drawer and took out a glossy brochure. On the cover was printed Quantum Holidays 2030 Edition with an image of a happy couple dressed in togas enjoying a picturesque sunrise on a marble balcony. She flicked through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

"The Age of Dinosaurs represents a significant leap forward in the field. Perhaps the greatest since Mr. Mandeville discovered time travel itself. For the first time, we have been able to reach past the limits of human history and explore beyond. The Age of Dinosaurs allows us to see what no other human has seen, in our time or any other.

The creatures they have there, it's truly amazing. Velociraptors, stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus rex, and they even have these dinosaurs called argentinosaurus. You need to see one of those. Wait, I think we have a photo in the brochure here somewhere."

Miss Connelly began flipping backward and forward, looking for the photograph, licking her finger before turning the page. As she did, Rose squeezed Jack's hand excitedly and smiled. Eventually, Miss Connelly found what she had been looking for.

"Here it is! It's unbelievable. I have a few co-workers who have been lucky enough to go on this trip and they say it's huge."

She turned the brochure towards Jack and Rose so they could see more clearly. In the photo were two gigantic long-necked dinosaurs that stood high above the treetops of a forest.

Jack's expression grew serious.

"It's all fascinating, but isn't it a little dangerous."

Miss Connelly leaned forward and said, "You know, I used to think the same thing myself. I'd seen the movies, but trust me, it's nothing like that. Quantum Holidays have set very safe routes and we have a large, dedicated security force working around the clock. We've also hired some of the world's top paleontologists to travel with the groups. It's best to think of it like a safari tour, except instead of lions you have brachiosaurus."

Rose interjected.

"So what do you think, honey?"

Jack looked at his fiance doubtfully.

"That looks like it involves a lot of walking. I can't get you to go anywhere in the city without taking a cab. Are you sure want this, Rose?"

Rose started to protest, but Miss Connelly, sensing the conversation was headed in the wrong direction, quickly changed the subject.

"Let's see what else we have, shall we?"

Flicking through the brochure with her wet finger, Miss Connelly stopped on an image of a cowboy riding a horse through the desert. She continued her pitch.

"Have you ever considered the Adventure package? It was actually one of the first offered when Quantum Holidays launched a decade ago. Over the years, we've tweaked it here and there, but it's still one of the most popular packages.

The current Adventure package offers tourists the chance to visit the great American frontier, the Wild West. Guests spend three nights in the infamous town of Tombstone. There they can experience what the frontier life was really like by drinking in saloons, watching shootouts, and visiting the local silver mine. After that, the tour heads to Central America on the eve of Hernan Cortes' discovery of the Aztec Empire. The trip includes a trail walk through the deep jungles and also a unique opportunity to visit the magnifcent temples of the Aztecs before they were destroyed by the Conquistadors.

Finally, the tour concludes with our guests joining Robert Peary as he becomes the first person to reach the North Pole. Guests will get to share in the challenges and successes of the final days of the expedition. The Adventure package is perfect for adrenaline junkies or for anyone looking for a bit of excitement."

Jack could see Rose watching him with pleading eyes like a girl in a toy store who had just asked for the most expensive doll. He chose to avoid her stare and replied to Miss Connelly.

"To be honest, I was hoping for something a bit more romantic for our honeymoon."

"Why didn't you say, Mr. Sinclair? We offer a specially tailored Honeymoon package for lovebirds like you."

Miss Connelly grew visibly excited as she searched the brochure for the right page.

"Oh, you both are going to love this, trust me. You start off in beautiful Ancient Rome. There you will get to see the Immortal City in its true glory. You will be taken to visit the Senate, the Emperor's palace, and some stunning temples. You will also get the chance to spend a day at the Coliseum. Don't get me wrong, Rome is still a lovely city today, but it's nothing compared to what it once was.

From there we move to the Atlantic Ocean, aboard the Titanic, where guests will be treated to a cruise experience like no other. Dine, drink, and dance with the fellow passengers on the ship's maiden and only voyage.

Leaving the Titanic before any sign of an iceberg, guests will move on to Tudor London. There they will take in an evening at William Shakespear's Globe Theatre, where one of his plays will be performed. They are currently showing A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sometimes even the great bard himself can be spotted in the crowd.

Guests are then treated to an audience with the great Austrian composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at the height of the renaissance in beautiful Vienna. Finally, we take guests to spend a wild and raucous night in Prohibition-era New Orleans. In one crazy night, we go on a tour of all the hot spots in the birthplace of jazz. I've actually been on the New Orleans leg of the trip, and I can tell you that it's fantastic. Imagine a modern day bar crawl, but infinitely better."

She stopped speaking to give them both a chance to look at the pictures in the brochure.

"So what do you think?" asked Miss Connelly.

Jack studied the pages carefully, but Rose could barely contain her excitement.

"Oh, Jack, let's do it!" said Rose.

Jack looked up from the brochure.

"This is what you want?"

She nodded overenthusiastically.

"This is what I want."

He looked from his fiancé to Miss Connelly and handed her back the brochure open on the page of the Honeymoon package.

"We will take two tickets for this one then, please."

"That's great news, Mr. Sinclair. You will not regret it," said Miss Connelly and she got up to start the paperwork.

She checked the dates with Jack and Rose and confirmed their availability. Before confirming the booking, Miss Connelly raised the question of payment. She looked at the couple gravely and placed her hands together.

"Now, I imagine you are both aware that our prices are a little more expensive than your average holiday in the sun."

"Yes, I was told to expect as much," said Jack.

Miss Connelly seemed somewhat relieved.

"Well, looking at the system your tickets are $5 million each."

"Yes, no problem," he replied straight-faced.

Hands pressed together again, Miss Connelly spoke again, "Great. Now, you are familiar with our 'Butterfly Deposit' policy?"

"I've heard a little in the press."

"Have you heard of the butterfly effect? It is the theory that the smallest action can have the largest effect, so where the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas. When the butterfly effect is applied to time travel, the consequences can be very serious and it is our responsibility to ensure we do nothing in the past that may upset the present.

Previously, we have had guests who have misbehaved or tried to alter certain events. Fortunately, there has always been staff on hand to react to these situations and we were able to correct any damage that was done.

To combat these incidents, we've introduced what we call the Butterfly Deposit. We require all our guests to place $2 million into a secure deposit fund. If a guest then does anything whilst traveling with us that may alter history, all costs incurred to repair the damage will be paid for out of their Butterfly Deposit.

I wouldn't worry about it too much though, Mr. Sinclair. You don't strike me as the type of person who would do anything silly, but still, it is company policy that we have a deposit from all guests."

Jack leaned back in his chair unimpressed and looked at Rose.

"I don't know. It seems like an awful lot of money."

Miss Connelly persisted.

"I can assure you, Mr. Sinclair, that's it's not a cent more than it has to be. As you can imagine, resetting history is not cheap. It involves a large team of specialists, working long hours and using advanced technology."

Rose put her hand on Jack's lap.

"It's okay, Jack. It's just a deposit. We will get it back after the holiday."

Jack let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Okay, if you have to have the deposit, I suppose you have to have the deposit."

Miss Connelly's smile widened.

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Sinclair."

With their holiday booked, they left the Quantum Holidays sales office and went to dinner at a new Japanese Brazilian fusion place that Rose had heard about, and later on to an after-show party for one of her friend's plays.

When they got home she was still excited about the holiday and talked about all the things they would do when they got there. Jack listened patiently, but his mind was distracted. He struggled to sleep that night as he thought about how he was going to tell his father that he had just booked his honeymoon with one of their company's biggest rivals.