Chapter 4: Chapter 3: departure to Japan

[ Note: Life from Peter's point of view. ]

Finally, I have arrived at the airport. First a rude awakening, then hurrying to the airport, followed by an annoying taxi driver. Maybe in half an hour I will finally have some peace and quiet again. 

But for now, I still need to get to the terminal before 09:30, so time to rush again as it is now 09:07.

 

I walked towards the enormous airport building. It was only renovated 5 years ago, it already was huge before, but now it's just enormous. I read somewhere that they had fully automated everything, so there shouldn't be many humans at work anymore. Let's see how it goes, maybe I will get to see one of those new Gen II strato-airliners which can take you anywhere worldwide in only a few hours. No long 18 hour trips anymore... no, just 2 to 3 hours and you are on your destination anywhere on the planet. 

 

That is, if you are not blown to pieces by some idiot Daisy Cutter. I heard some colleagues calling them that yesterday. Yes, it is a strange name, but they indeed are idiots, eeh, the cult people I mean. The nickname is appropriate though, it sounds more horrifying than "The New Day Movement" or "the Days". And it is ultimately the only thing they do: kill everything that stands out of their way of thinking. 

 

Stay positive! Nothing is going to happen. Not now, not today. Today is the first day of my new life. 

Leaving the taxi stand, I look around and make my way to the airport's main entrance. I patiently wait for the green light at the crosswalk and then continue my way. Need to walk faster or I will be late...

 

Well, I was walking, until I heard an extremely loud truck horn almost blow my ears out, giving me a death scare. That truck was close, too close. I turn my head towards the sound, instinctively jump back and see the truck missing my nose by a mere 10 centimetres. Yes, I could clearly see the wear and tear on its paint, something red and something white with lots of scratches. That was close, way too close!

 

"What the bloody shitty shit. Oh my God. You bloody idiot". I showed the driver my finger, multiple times. But I guess the idiot was in a hurry. My heart still goes like 500 beats a minute, I am panting, and am now slowly calming down while my hand rests on my heart, gasping for air. I feel like I cheated death. People shout at me from across the street and ask if I am alright, and I barely manage to nod and reply "yes, thank you, I.....".  

 

Seems I am not allowed to finish my sentence, as I now see and hear two police hover-cars which are obviously in hot pursuit, following the idiot truck driver that nearly killed me. Without another thought, I point in the direction the idiot went, and the police seem to understand as one of the officers waves his hand at me. A small "thanks!" popup message immediately shows on my hand. Yes, that we can do too: send a quick message...,but not that I care about that now. 

 

After my almost second heart attack and near death experience in one minute and after my ears now were almost blown to pieces by the police sirens, I again waited for the green light. Yep, it's green again. Should I? 

I look around, again and again, making sure it is really safe to go. Then I ran across the street. Finally, I made it!

 

I now finally enter the airport building and see many, many people, while I catch my breath for a minute.

You would think that most flights are later in the day, but this is a 24-hour international airport. This place is always busy, but now even more so, because the holiday season is approaching. People who are going home, or heading for a last-minute break like me. 

 

It is still November, but a giant Christmas tree is standing proud in the middle of the wide entrance hall. Beautifully decorated in multi-coloured lights. It instantly makes me smile again, making me feel much better already. I can hear some background music, ah Christmas songs, that makes sense. But I don't have the time to look around or get into the holiday spirit. I need to rush!

 

I look at my hand and it shows 09.15 already. "Cutting it close, time to move on. Man, would I like a cup of hot coffee" I say out loud. I then follow the map which is projected above my left hand and enter the correct transport lane. A single tile on the floor blinks two times, then starts to move and is heading towards my destination which it wirelessly requested from my hand computer chip. It is already 09.20, when I arrive at the check-in. I take a deep breath, yes I made it!

 

A lady android approaches me, and scans my hand from a distance. Her grey uniform with the company logo suits her, she is the ultimate customer service...android. Programmed to be smiling all the time. Nice, but definitely not human. 

 

"Good morning Mr. Andrews, and welcome to your flight with Cloud9 Airlines to Tokyo. Please allow me to take your bag and kindly enter the plane as the gate is closing now. All is checked and verified, you are good to go."

 

I unconsciously winced at the "Mr." part and then replied "sure, here you are", I gave her my travel bag.

No, I am not going to be nice to a piece of hardware. I follow the last few other passengers into the plane. It is huge, it really is one of those fancy new Gen II strato-airliners, lucky me. 

 

Entering the plane, I am greeted by more of those walking hardware bags with simulated emotions. Yes, joy, bloody joy, more androids. 

 

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"Ohayou gozaimasu......" (good morning in Japanese), a stewardess impersonating android says. 

 

I interrupt the stupid thing, glared at it and say "English please." 

 

"Of course, my apologies, dear customer. Please urgently go to your designated seat, we will be departing in a few minutes."

 

While grinning I replied "okyakusama wa kami sama desu" (the customer is King, in Japanese). I loved the stupid face it made, as I replied in Japanese. I know a few phrases and I love to annoy those silly AI machines whenever I have a chance. I quickly moved on and followed the instructions on my hand to the correct seat.

 

While watching the mandatory safety briefing we all love, another android approached our section of the plane  and asked us if we would like to drink something while we waited. I honestly believed that we would be leaving in a few minutes, but meh, who am I to complain? 

 

"Oh god, yes please, some hot coffee would be nice" I replied.  

 

"Yes of course dear customer, what coffee do you like:  mild, medium, strong, Western, Eastern, Cappuccino-Style,...." 

 

"Stop!!" I shouted into its face. "Normal regular coffee with 10% cream at a temperature of 87.8 degrees celsius without any sugar, in a cup without spoon, shaken not stirred please."

 

"Understood. Kindly give the proper instructions from the beginning next time, so we may be more efficient" it dared to ask.

 

My face quickly turned red with anger, it gave me my coffee and went on its merry way. "My god, one of these days I swear..."  unable to finish my sentence as I noticed my neighbour, a young woman, giggling at my remark. 

 

"Sorry" she says, "that was really funny." I couldn't stay angry and also started to laugh. I wanted to introduce myself, but the android in charge of the flight (no I will not address a microwave in uniform as Captain), thought it should make an announcement. 

 

"Dear customers, please prepare to depart for destination Tokyo. We will arrive in 2 hours and 8 minutes, please put your seats upright and hand over any drinks you may have. The weather in Tokyo is a sunny 23 degrees celsius. Thank you for flying Cloud9 Airlines, making you smile while others are stuck in traffic."  

 

"Nice catching slogan, dork" I thought, while I reluctantly handed over my untouched drink to the android which I confused a while ago. She looked at me in a funny way, well as far as they can look funny. She replied "sumimasen" (sorry). Oh no, the joke is on me, she switched back to Japanese mode. Anyway, two more hours and I am in Tokyo!! Jihaaa, let's go already!

 

The flight was uneventful, we climbed to an altitude that almost made us leave Earth, then accelerating to unimaginable speeds. 

 

About two hours later, we landed safely in Tokyo. The still confused android, confused because I asked to switch to English again, wished me a pleasant stay after which I replied with a serious expression on my face "Peter has stopped working, please try again later".  Oh my God, she showed THE most funny face ever. Smiling like I won a gold medal at the Olympics, I left the plane, desperately looking for a restaurant, preferably one without androids and just some hot coffee.  

 

After picking up my travel bag, I found a nice quiet restaurant. The androids and genuine human staff in Tokyo were a lot nicer. The androids behaved definitely in a more human fashion here, so absolutely no complaints there. Polite and providing excellent customer service. Just as my Japanese colleagues I remembered from the monthly hologram meetings at work. 

 

Enjoying my much needed hot coffee and eating a strawberry cake replenished my energy to a satisfactory degree. I will eat properly once I arrive at the hotel.

 

I then pay the restaurant bill and then continue my trip to the hotel. My map-hologram appeared by tapping once on my hand, checking an overview of the route to the hotel; it showed no traffic delays. Isn't it amazing? I have no jet-lag, at least not yet, but there is still a time difference. The local time currently shows it's already early in the evening, while only travelling for 2 hours. Amazing.

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