in transit

restlessness and fear don’t go well together
the hunger for an elusive emotion or sense of closure is nullified by uncertainty and the unknown
on top of that, Melbourne has never been on a plane before
she’s not liking it one bit
one second she’d been in whatever random class of the hour she was required to attend
the next she was standing in the enormous airport concourse holding a fresh passport and travel passes
it’s way too strange

as far as she could tell, there were other people on the flight around her age or even a bit older
every one of them had to have authorisation of some kind from their guardians
or from some form of company or formal body
they had to produce the data at check-in, at the gate, at the terminal to get on to the plane
no-one had asked her a single question the whole time
having never flown before, Melbourne had no idea where to go to check in
she’d gone to the information desk and shown her passport, ticket and ID-chip
– um… i don’t know where to go… sorry
she would have felt embarrassed if she wasn’t so disoriented
the guy behind the desk smiled and plugged her chip, scanned her passport and ticket
Melbourne thought she saw his smile grow a bit, like something made him real happy
– nothing to be sorry about. just follow me
he was super cheerful, and that was creepy
she followed him feeling like a lost dog until they got to a closed check-in desk
– just wait here for me if you don’t mind
another smile
she wondered what people did if they did mind
two seconds later another guy walked up behind the desk and sat down, starts fiddling with his system
the guy from the information desk appeared beside her
– this is Ms. Alexandra Vincini
that was news to her, she hadn’t even looked at the passport
– hi Alexandra
– please make sure she checks in alright and take care of her flight
– my name’s McLaren, the kind gentleman beside you is Vance – if you ever need anything, just feel free to ask us
they sounded like uncles
or older cousins
– um… ok
before she knew it, the guy named McLaren was handing back her chip
smiling
Melbourne had been to airports before, never to fly out, but to see others off
to pick them up
and this was nothing like what she’d seen before, what was happening meters away from her
‘no you can’t check in more than three items per passenger under that code…’
‘ok… if you have other tickets reserved i’m going to need you to go to that desk over there…’
‘i have to charge you for every kilo over the limit, but you’re way over anyway and we can’t…’
she wondered why he hadn’t asked her about luggage
maybe he wouldn’t ask if he didn’t see any
usually they did ask
– thanks
Melbourne said, and took her stuff
– just follow me Alexandra
and he got out from behind the desk
she got the feeling that she’d be ‘just’ doing a whole bunch of things today
he’d taken her to a transit lounge
– would you like anything to drink?
– no i’m ok – thanks
– no problem. if you need anything,
he gestures to two staff-members standing at the other side of the room
– Aurora and Jacob will be more than happy to help you out

and he disappeared

first names
instead of nameless staff who didn’t care about anything
they were all people with first names
and she had one too

Melbourne sits on this plane
silver class
there’s an empty seat beside her and she wonders if that is part of whatever is going on
she hasn’t seen her friends and wonders where they are
everyone is calling her Alexandra
she’s restless, dying to know what on earth is going on
but the hack on her phone, and their chatroom interruption have spooked her
she sits very still in her synthetic leather seat
listening to the hum of the plane’s turbines thinking that it isn’t a good sound
they’d been so loud at takeoff, and the acceleration had made her feel sick in her stomach
once the plane had gotten up in the air, the feeling was too different
that something as heavy as this could stay in the air was an idea that didn’t fit well in her mind
– is everything alright Alexandra?
– yeah, yes… sure. thanks
she’d made up names before, personalities to use on the net
but now she actually is someone else, and none of these people know better
none of them are going to try and break-down her body to find-out who she really is
to them she simply is Alexandra

to distract herself she looks out of the window at the clouds
they’re somehow very different to what they look like from the ground
it’s like a whole world up in the sky
castles and mountains and oceans of grey and white
at first she had felt an awful sense of vertigo at the limitless expanse of sky
but slowly she had grown accustomed to it
Melbourne doesn’t think about how long she’s been in the air
she just looks out at the clouds until it gets too dark to see anything

– sorry Alexandra?
her first name is Klara
– yes?
– we’ve got instructions to give you this package during the flight
Melbourne stares
– thank you
and in there is a matte-black titanium mobile and a PDA in the same finish
no brand

she wonders if Riyadh and Cardiff are on this flight, but she hasn’t seen them
Melbourne doesn’t want to risk asking, and anyway they probably have new names of their own
it’s been hours since she’d been at school, and as much as she tries to stay awake, she eventually falls into a light sleep

when she wakes she sees the sky growing increasingly lighter until the city of clouds return

it’s morning when the plane descends into a large city
she disembarks and finds a first-name attendant waiting for her at the gate
– hi Alexandra? i’m Miyasawa, but you can call me Miya or Maya if you like
– hi
– do you prefer Alex or Alexandra?
– um… Alex is fine
– if you could just follow me – can i get you anything? a drink or something?
– no thank you
and it seems so normal to her, like she’s done it a hundred times
who gets this kind of treatment? who has their flights, their lives all set up like this?
so that someone’s holding your hand from beginning to end?
they walk through the gate into a door that leads through to another transit lounge

there she sees Riyadh, Cardiff, and who she assumes to be their first-names standing by a lounge-suite getup casually talking
– hi Maya!
– hey Theo, Benjamin
the first-names greet each-other
– this is Mathilde, Gregory
– this is Alexandra
Cardiff looks as confused as Melbourne feels, but Riyadh shakes Miyazawa’s hand with a smile of her own
– well Alex, guys, it was a pleasure to meet you
Riyadh’s first-name, Theo says
– your vehicle will be out front in about ten minutes – if there was anything else you needed?
– no we’re fine thanks Theo
Riyadh says with another smile
– ok then – shall we?
he raises his eyebrows to the other first-names, proud of a job well done
– see you!
– enjoy yourselves
– check out that restaurant i told you about
and they disappear into the crowd and building around them
– Gregory?
Melbourne asks
– i didn’t choose it
– obviously
– you seem to be getting along nicely
Cardiff says to Riyadh
– well as long as it makes sense to them, i’m all for it. haven’t had that much fun in years
– right, so like, we aren’t about to be taken away to some government nuthouse or something
– Card – why would someone go to all this trouble if they wanted to hurt us? the staff here obviously do this kind of thing all the time
– did you both get phones?
Melbourne interjects
– hell yes
Cardiff immediately is distracted
– not a logo in site, but from the titanium and the OS, i’d say this was custom Swedish tech, best in the world
– i don’t think the world really uses this kind of thing Card
Riyadh adds
– did you turn yours on?
– yeah…
– my god Card – you’re shit-scared of being here but you just turn on an unmarked phone
– yeah i tried to crack it with the stuff in my bag, but pretty much found nothing – it’s all live data-shuffling
– constant?
Melbourne asks
– you bet
– far out
Riyadh pulls out her phone and turns it on
Melbourne chooses to leave hers for the minute
– we’d better get outside, our ‘vehicle’ should be here by the time we get out

their vehicle is a self-driven forest-green Jaguar, the kind where the front seats faced backwards
it was a small lounge on wheels
windows tinted black
a first-name was standing by the doors
– Alexandra, Mathilde, Gregory
he smiles and nods to them all as he says their names
Riyadh smiles back again and says
– thanks…?
he opens the doors which are hinged at the front and back, revealing no centre column
– Mitchell
they get in and sit down
Mitchell closes the doors
Riyadh grins at her two friends and pushes the controls to lower an electric window
– thanks Mitchell
– no problem!
the vehicle pulls away

it must have rained a while ago
the streets are still damp with the oily sheen of water
– you seem slightly less worried than you did in that chatroom Ree
Cardiff says
– don’t get me wrong, i’m still scared, but i figure i might as well enjoy it
Melbourne wishes she could be like her
– hey are you alright?
Riyadh asks
– no i’m ok. just – i mean that was my first time flying, and it’s all still… confusing
Riyadh realises her enthusiasm might just be bit irritating
– hey i’m sorry
– no it’s alright – enjoy it. you should – it’s great
Melbourne smiles
– whatever it is Mel,
Cardiff says
– we’re all in this together ok?
– yeah
Melbourne smiles again, but she feels like she’s going to cry
– thanks
– hey it’s alright
Riyadh puts her arm around Melbourne’s shoulder and embraces her from the side
– we’re together – we’ll be alright

the Jag finally stops
they suddenly feel less than alright
– is this it?
– is what it? i mean, where are we?
Riyadh and Cardiff’s phones both start chiming at the same time
Riyadh pulls hers out of her bag and stares, Cardiff does the same
she pushes the call button, and Cardiff’s stops chiming
– oh now that’s hot
he says
– hello?
– you’re downstairs?
a woman’s voice
Riyadh doesn’t say anything
– i’m really glad you’ve come
still nothing
then she answers
– who are you?
a pause, then the woman answers
– my name – is Seoul

and Riyadh just drops the phone