The Accidental Traveler

“I’m going to have to ask you to please remove your laptop from your carry-on now, sir,” said the TSA officer firmly.

 “Of course,” replied Kieran.

 He quickly unzipped his backpack and removed his MacBook from the padded laptop sleeve, setting it in a plastic carton that was moving slowly down the conveyor belt and into the X-ray machine.

 “Thank you,” responded the TSA officer. Kieran nodded at the man, walked through the full-body scanner, and collected his belongings as they emerged on the other side. He hastily checked his watch. 3:14. He was just barely going to make his flight.

 Fifteen minutes later, Kieran handed his boarding pass to the attendant, who scanned it and listened as the computer emitted an approving beep. He walked quickly past her and onto the ramp that lead to the waiting 747.

  “Good afternoon. Welcome aboard!” said a flight attendant as Kieran entered the plane.

 Kieran glanced at his boarding pass and scanned the aisle, eventually locating his seat and stowing his backpack in the overhead compartment. He fastened his seat belt. On the screen overhead, a video was playing. “Please listen to this important safety message from California Airlines. Your undivided attention is required. All baggage should be safely stowed in the overhead compartments or under the seat in front of you. To fasten your seatbelt, insert the metal tip into the buckle, securing the strap so it’s low and tight across your waist. In the rare event of a water landing…” After a few seconds, Kieran tuned out the voice and focused on an article about landscaping in the in-flight magazine. He’d been through this routine a thousand times.

 2,305 miles away, in a nondescript office building, a man examined data relayed by a piece of software.

 “Is the program on?” asked his co-worker.

 “Yes,” the man responded.

 “Excellent,” said the woman.

 Onboard Flight 976, Kieran was getting drowsy. The map on the screen above him showed a little airplane icon positioned over the middle of the Pacific. 9 hours 11 mins until arrival was displayed in official-looking type at the bottom of the screen. Kieran sighed. Finally, a little break. He’d been working nonstop lately but it seemed that none of it was in vain; it looked as if his merger was going ahead. The last step needed to steal the deal, his boss had determined, was to send someone to Tokyo to meet with the CEO of Takahashi Industries personally. That someone was Kieran. He was not really looking forward to the sure-to-be boring meeting that awaited him, but he was nevertheless possessed by that excitement that always set in when he was on a plane to a foreign country. It never got old; he loved traveling and seeing new places. It made him realize how well-traveled and yet how unworldly he truly was.

 Kieran slowly drifted off to sleep, and he had the weirdest dream. He was in a pool, and he was swimming frantically but getting nowhere. It was almost like he was stuck in the aquatic version of a treadmill. He was in the middle of this frustrating dream when suddenly he woke up, having heard a shrill scream. It was the passenger sitting next to him, a pregnant lady who looked like she was in her early thirties. She nudged Kieran and pointed out the window. Kieran saw nothing but blackness. Was it night already? He was starting to think that the woman next to him was having some kind of panic attack when she was joined in her screaming by a large percentage of the other passengers. Kieran struggled to figure out why everyone was so alarmed. After a few seconds, he realized why everyone was agitated: the familiar drone of the plane’s engines was conspicuously absent. The second he realized this, Kieran gasped in horror. He quickly realized the implications of this deadly silence. Without thrust, they were going to crash into the Pacific. Kieran felt panic start to overwhelm him and braced himself for that uncomfortable falling feeling that he knew was inevitable. He waited for a few seconds with his eyes closed, praying. He felt nothing. That’s odd, he thought to himself, in the middle of his terror.

 Meanwhile, in the office building, the worker noticed with alarm that a warning light was flashing above his computer. He hastily picked up the phone. “Mr. Scofield?” he asked. “It appears that we have a problem.”

 Onboard the plane, things seemed desperate. Just as Kieran’s terror was turning into confusion, things seemed to return to normal. Kieran quickly looked out his window. Suddenly he could see something. 34,000 feet below him was the Pacific Ocean, gleaming a brilliant emerald blue. He checked his watch. It was only 4:42. He heard the engines start up and breathed a sigh of relief. The passengers stopped screaming. The captain got on the intercom.

 “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m deeply sorry about that. It appears that our engines temporarily failed while we were flying through a dense patch of clouds. I immediately attempted to restart the engines and I’m happy to report that they resumed functioning properly. There is no cause for alarm; the computer is telling me that there was an obstruction in the fuel line which has been cleared. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience.”

 Kieran was relieved but surprised at how nonchalant the pilot seemed; after all, they had nearly crashed into the Pacific Ocean. His breathing was slowly returning to normal. With a small chuckle, he realized that he would have quite a story to tell when he got back to the States.

 In the nondescript office building many miles away, the worker scanned his computer screen and emitted a sigh of relief. He picked up the phone again.

 “Mr. Scofield? It appears that the situation has resolved itself.”

 “That is excellent news.”

 Onboard the 747, a flight attendant eventually got on the intercom and announced that the captain was beginning the descent into Narita International Airport. Kieran turned off his music and put on his shoes. He couldn’t wait to call his partner and tell him all about their mishap in the air. He looked out the window and saw the runway. Then he felt a clunk as the plane’s landing gear touched the ground. They pulled into the gate. Ding. The seatbelt sign turned off and the passengers began their mad scramble to collect their belongings and exit the plane. The flight attendant said, “We have now arrived in Tokyo. On behalf of the captain and crew, thank you for flying California Airlines!”

 Kieran couldn’t help but feel relieved as he exited the plane. He quickly called his husband and explained what had happened a few hours earlier. Harrison was alarmed and disturbed at first but gradually calmed down when he heard that Kieran was all right.

 At headquarters, the worker typed a string of commands into his computer.

 “Initiating Phase Two,” he said to himself. “Is everything in place?” he asked his co-worker.

 “Yes,” she replied.

 “And everyone knows what to do?” he asked. She gave a slight nod.

 “Excellent,” said the worker, thinking about how pleased Mr. Scofield would be once he heard that things were now on track.

 At the airport, Kieran was collecting his bag at the baggage claim. He quickly spotted a man standing near the conveyor holding a sign with the name Kieran Wilson scrawled on it. Interesting, he thought. Takahashi Industries must have sent a driver to take Kieran to his hotel. As Kieran approached the man, he did a double take. He thought he recognized him; he must have seen him somewhere before. After a second, he shrugged it off; after all, he was sleep-deprived after the long flight. He had never met this man before. He must have been mistaken. He approached the man and introduced himself.

 “Right this way, Mr. Wilson,” said the man authoritatively. He spoke almost perfect American English. Kieran followed the man down a flight of stairs which led to an underground parking garage. Parked a few yards away was a gleaming black Lincoln Town Car. Kieran got in and started to relax. He was on the last leg of his journey. It was hard to believe that just twelve hours ago, he had been standing on American soil.

 During the thirty-minute drive to his hotel, Kieran stared out the tinted window of the Town Car, admiring the view. Skyscrapers rushed past, and everywhere he looked he saw flashing neon lights. The city seemed to be alive; it looked to be throbbing with energy, the energy of its thirty-five million inhabitants. It was only 7:30pm local time but to Kieran it was nearly 4:00am. He soon drifted off to sleep. He was jolted awake about ten minutes after he first drifted off by the sound of something hitting his window. He looked outside but couldn’t see the object that had struck. He couldn’t see a crack in the window. In fact, he could see nothing. The window was black; completely opaque. That’s weird, thought Kieran to himself. It was nighttime, but he expected to at least see the city lights that he had noticed earlier. He looked out the other windows. Everything seemed normal there; he could see the lights. He looked back out his window. The view was back! Perplexed, he leaned forward and asked the driver what had happened. After he finished talking on his cell phone, the chauffer responded. “It’s a security system,” he said. “The window turns black whenever something heavy damages it. I apologize. A nearby driver must have thrown a piece of trash out of their window.”

 “Oh,” Kieran said uncertainly. He supposed this made sense, except for the fact that when he examined the window closely he could see no sign of damage.

 Back at the complex, the worker was sweating. “It seems we had a malfunction,” he breathed to his partner.

 “Should we report this?” she asked.

 “No…I’ve communicated with our agent…it seems to be working now,” responded the man. “I’ll investigate the cause of this. We need to have an explanation ready in case Scofield finds out.”

 “Are we ready for Phase Three?”

 The man pressed a few keys and looked at his computer screen. “Everything is in place,” he replied.

 In the Town Car, Kieran was getting antsy. They were stuck in traffic only blocks from the hotel. After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into an underground parking garage. Kieran got out of the car, thanked the driver, and walked over to an elevator which took him into the hotel’s lobby. He completed the check-in process as fast as he could and headed to his room on the forty-fourth floor. Before conking out, he admired the view from his window. He could see the Tokyo Tower, gleaming in the night. Exhausted, he soon fell asleep.

 He woke up early the next morning and realized that he had some time to kill before his important meeting. He decided to explore the city a little bit. As he was walking out of the lobby and toward the hotel’s revolving doors, he was surprised to be accosted by a hotel employee, who told him hastily that there was a problem with his reservation. He backtracked and spent half an hour arguing with the concierge about his check-out time and the discounted rate. Finally, it seemed that things were straightened out. By this point, Kieran had soured on exploring Tokyo and just wanted to return to his room. On a whim he headed toward the door and tried to push it but was dismayed to find that it didn’t budge. That’s odd, he thought. He assumed it was just stuck. He could see people walking on the sidewalk outside. He was wandering around the lobby in search of another door that led outside when the concierge approached him.

 “Mr. Wilson?” he asked. “I was just informed by a representative of Takahashi Industries that your meeting time has changed. It’s scheduled to go ahead in fifteen minutes in the conference room on our second floor.”

 Surprised, Kieran wondered why Takahashi had decided to change the time of the meeting. He thanked the concierge, who rushed off to answer a ringing phone, and headed back to his room to quickly change into a suit.

 Back at the facility, the worker was on the phone. His partner was listening. He seemed agitated, she noticed. When he hung up, he explained to her what the problem was and how it had been cleverly resolved. They both breathed sighs of relief. The worker checked his computer screen. “Phase Four is now operational,” he said to no one in particular.

 At the hotel, Kieran had finished changing and was sitting nervously at the end of a long conference table, waiting for the CEO of Takahashi Industries to show up. After a few minutes, the door to the conference room opened and in marched a formidable-looking woman and a small group of men in suits. They sat down, with the woman at the head of the table, directly across from Kieran.

 “Kieran Wilson?” she asked, all business. “I’m Olivia Takahashi, CEO of Takahashi Industries. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 “The pleasure is mine,” Kieran said confidently.

 He listened as Ms. Takahashi went on and on about the history of Takahashi Industries, and told him repeatedly how excited she was about the upcoming merger. She seemed to have hit her stride when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if she was uncertain about something. After a few seconds, she gained a new resolve; it was almost as if she had made a decision. “Gentlemen,” she said authoritatively to the men sitting around her. “I’m going to have to ask you to give Mr. Wilson and I a moment. Can you please wait outside?” Surprised, some of the men gave her uncertain looks. She nodded at them ever so slightly, as if to indicate that this was the right course of action. Her henchmen stood up and slowly filed out of the room.

 “Now that we have a little privacy…” began Ms. Takahashi, “I have decided to give you some information, Kieran. This is very important information. Can I trust you with it?”

 “I…I guess so, Ms. Takahashi,” Kieran said, his confidence slowly ebbing away. “What’s this about? Is there a complication related to the merger?”

 “Please, call me Olivia,” said Ms. Takahashi. “And no, this has nothing to do with the merger. This may disturb you, but nevertheless I will continue…I don’t think there even is a merger. I’m afraid, Kieran, that you have become entangled in something that you don’t quite understand. You’ve been deceived, and I’m certain that once you are made aware of the full extent of this deception, you will be terrified. You will want to question my integrity. Do not make that mistake, Kieran. This is about something that is bigger than you or I, but together, we can do the right thing. We can wield the powerful information that I’m about to give you in the right way. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that Kieran?”

 “I…I guess so…” stammered Kieran. He had just met this woman; he barely knew her. And now she was asking him to trust her as she told him the merger was canceled, and gave him some supposedly important information that he hadn’t even asked for? It seemed almost insane. Kieran wondered if this was all a bad dream. Surely he must be asleep in his room on the forty-fourth floor. His boss would be furious.

 After a minute, Olivia jolted him out of his reverie. “That’ll have to do,” she said decisively. “Before you ask me any questions, Kieran, let me ask you one. Did you notice anything strange, anything out of the ordinary, while you were in transit yesterday?” How does she know? thought Kieran.

 “It’s funny you should mention that…” Kieran began, “But yes, actually, there were some rather unusual occurrences,” he said, thinking about the incident on the plane and in the car. “Why do you ask?”

 “What I’m about to tell you is something you won’t believe at first. But I must ask you to bear with me,” declared Olivia. “First things first: my real last name isn’t Takahashi. It’s Chen.”

 “Ok…” mumbled Kieran uncertainly, wondering why she was telling him this.

 “And secondly,” she continued, “Have you ever really thought about the nature of modern air travel? We get in these giant flying contraptions, spend several hours in them, and when we get out the world looks a little different. We never really experience the sensation of physically moving from one place to another anymore; we must just trust that that is exactly what we’ve done. It’s all about the destination; the journey is no longer relevant. Which is why you shouldn’t be entirely surprised when I tell you that…that you are actually not in Tokyo right now. As hard as this may be to believe, you are currently in an abandoned hotel in Los Angeles, about thirty miles away from the airport. Almost everyone you have interacted with since yesterday: the flight attendants, your driver, the concierge, myself…almost everyone is not in fact Japanese but is an American working for the U.S. government.”

 Kieran didn’t believe her, of course. Was this all some kind of trick? An elaborate ruse or psychological experiment? “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, Olivia,” he stated, laughing a little. “But I’m not falling for it. The idea that I somehow traveled over five thousand miles without leaving Los Angeles is absurd. Just this morning, I was looking out my window at the Tokyo Tower. I really don’t know what kind of person you take me for,” he said, suddenly getting angry and making a decision. “I’m leaving now to go look for the real CEO of Takahashi Industries,” he declared. And he stood up. As he was headed for the door, he heard Olivia call after him.

 “Wait,” she pleaded. “Before you go, just answer this one question for me. Have you ever actually been outside since you entered the airport in Los Angeles?” Kieran paused, thinking that of course he had. Then he stopped. He considered Olivia’s question.

“Now that I think about it…no,” he stated. “But why is that relevant?”

 “Because ever since you entered that airport, your environment has been carefully controlled,” responded Olivia. “All so the government could preserve one vital secret.”

 “Preposterous,” said Kieran angrily. “I’m not an idiot, you know. At the airport, in the airplane, in the car, and in my hotel room, there were windows that allowed me to see the outside world.”

“All fake,” Olivia responded authoritatively. “The Pentagon has developed a brand-new window coating that allows images to be projected remotely. It looks very real, but what you were seeing when you looked out those windows was imagery being relayed by a computer. Imagery that the government wanted you to see.”

“But I was on an airplane,” Kieran protested.

“A clever simulator,” Olivia replied.

Kieran still didn’t really believe her, but then he thought of the chauffer he thought he’d recognized. He suddenly realized where he’d seen him before: he was the TSA agent who had asked him to take his laptop out of his bag at LAX. But how could he have gotten to Tokyo before Kieran, with enough time to change clothes and wait for him at the baggage claim?

“Even if I did believe you…” Kieran began, his tone changing from hostility to uncertainty, “How is it that you know so much about this deception?”

“That is not your concern,” replied Olivia sternly.

 Olivia took a small laptop out of her bag and opened it up. On the screen, a video was queued up. Olivia pressed play. Kieran leaned in to watch. The camera seemed to be located in some kind of warehouse. Also in the warehouse was a 747 attached to an intricate system of pulleys and levers. The windows of the aircraft appeared to be blacked out, and nearby was a ramp, the kind of ramp that is used to load passengers onto airplanes. Suddenly, the plane started moving and a noise that sounded very much like jet engines filled the room. Kieran looked more closely. The plane was moving, but it didn’t appear to be going anywhere. Instead, it was vibrating slightly and the levers and pulleys had tilted it so that its nose was pointed upward. “Ascent,” said Olivia emotionlessly. She fast-forwarded a little bit. Now, the plane was level. Suddenly, the lights in the warehouse went off and the engine sound dissipated. Kieran looked at Olivia. “A massive power failure,” she declared. Kieran realized that this perfectly explained the perplexing episode that took place on his flight.

“How did you get this footage?” he asked her.

“Once again, that is not your concern,” said Olivia.

 “And the incident in the Town Car?” asked Kieran, assuming she knew about the window that had gone black.

“You were really moving then,” Olivia said. “On the way to the hotel, another driver flung a piece of trash out of their window and it hit the window of your Town Car. The impact wasn’t strong enough to damage the window but it did temporarily short out the screen that was attached to it. From the outside, the windows of your Town Car must have looked opaque just like the windows of the airplane in the video, but you probably assumed they were just tinted.”

“But why is this stuff happening?” asked Kieran, puzzled but finally starting to believe her.

“I’ll answer that by telling you that there’s something else you must know, Kieran,” whispered Olivia conspiratorially. “Your round-trip flight is part of an experiment—your experience these past couple days is merely a test for a much larger program the government is thinking about implementing. I believe that it would be devastating if this program was implemented.”

 “What kind of program is it?” asked Kieran.

“I’m getting there,” said Olivia. “What you must know first is that I have a plan to prevent the government from activating this program. A plan that requires your help. But in order for it to work, you must not let on that you know everything’s fake. If anyone even suspects that you know you’re not really where you’re supposed to be, all will be lost. Can you keep this information secret, Kieran?”

“Yes,” stated Kiran, with certainty.

“Good,” declared Olivia. “Now, I must tell you why the government deceived you in this way…it’s all because we’re…” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Olivia stopped speaking immediately. “Come in!” she yelled. It was one of her henchmen. “We’re…concerned that this merger may not be going properly,” he said sternly. He gave Olivia a quizzical look.

“By all means, come in,” chirped Olivia. “Mr. Wilson and I were just closing the deal. Isn’t that right Kieran?”

“Yep,” said Kieran uncertainly.

 Back at the facility in Virginia, the government worker was once again on the phone. After a few minutes, he hung up, frowning. “It seems that a rather unorthodox situation has developed,” he told his co-worker, and explained to her about the agents waiting outside the conference room in Los Angeles.

“Does Mr. Scofield know about this?” she asked.

“No,” he replied, “but it appears that the change of plan was authorized at the highest levels.”

“The Boss?” asked his partner with a surprised look on her face.

“Yes,” replied the worker, sounding baffled. “The Boss is okay with the change.”

 Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Kieran was relaxing in his room. What a day, he thought. He looked out the window, wondering what he was really staring at. His whole world had changed dramatically. He was watching TV when he heard a knock on the door. He got up and opened it. There was no one there. He looked down. On the floor was a tiny slip of paper. He picked it up and read it: K., meet me at the bar on the 58th floor in 30 mins –O.C. He immediately knew who this message was from. He took a quick shower and then boarded the elevator and pressed the little round next button next to the number fifty-eight. When entered the restaurant at the very top of the hotel, he immediately headed for the bar. Sitting there nonchalantly was Olivia Chen. She waved him over and he sat down and ordered a drink. “Okay,” she whispered to him. “Let’s finish our conversation from earlier today, but quietly. You never know who could be listening.”

“You were about to tell me why I’ve been tricked in this way…” began Kieran.

“Exactly,” Olivia responded. “You see, Kieran, we’re at war…or we’re about to be.”

 “What?!” yelled Kieran. A few of the other people in the restaurant looked over at him.

“Quiet!” scolded Olivia. “Yes,” she began again. “Not many people know this…but last year our strategic oil reserves ran out and domestic drilling has reached an all-time low. The President has signed onto a plan to acquire a guaranteed supply of oil for us for the rest of the century. It involves the use of force.”

“But…” stammered Kieran. “That’s insane!”

“Not according to the administration,” Olivia shot back. “Think about what would happen if we suddenly ran out of oil; think about how devastating that would be for the U.S. economy. In this case, the President has judged that the risks of waging war are outweighed by the risks of not having a steady and stable energy supply. The plan is to first attack Iran, then Saudi Arabia, then Russia.”

Kieran was speechless.

 “You can’t travel without oil,” Olivia continued. “And on top of that, the administration has calculated that other nations may rush to contain what many will surely see as an unprecedented display of American power and aggression. We could have a world war on our hands.”

“So…” said Kieran, stunned but putting the pieces together. “That’s why we won’t be able to travel anymore.”

“Exactly,” whispered Olivia. “Don’t you see? The administration knows that the American public will never back this, no matter how oil we have left. So no one can know. But at the same time, the government can’t restrict our freedoms or at least can’t appear to do so. So they’ve created the perfect illusion of freedom. Granted, there are some kinks to be ironed out, as the government has discovered, but that won’t stop them from implementing this plan as soon as they can on a broader scale.”

 “And Flight 976 was…a test case?” asked Kieran.

“Correct,” replied Olivia. “You and the rest of the passengers were selected out of a random sample of frequent international travelers. The government approached each of you indirectly and was able to provide incentives for you to fly to Japan. The plan was to create a hotel so magnificent that you’d never desire to leave it. Obviously, they failed spectacularly on that front. The point is, once the war begins, people won’t be able to travel because (a) many foreign nations will be hostile to the United States, (b) exposure to the world outside our borders would result in people learning the terrible truth, and (c) we will have nearly run out of oil by then.”

 Kieran took a deep breath, stunned by the extent of the deception. “So why are you telling me all this?” he asked.

“I was initially a supporter of the President’s program,” whispered Olivia. “But other than the President herself, I am the only one who knows the true extent of the plan. How I found out all the details is not your concern. When I learned everything, I was horrified. I decided try to do my best to sabotage the program.”

“How will you do so?” asked Kieran.

“I’m planning on sending the video I showed you, along with a signed note that I intercepted from the President that outlines the details of the plan and names California Airlines 976 as test case, to every major news organization in the United States. I have researched every passenger on that flight: credit histories, education, legal records, etc. Recently, I made the determination that you are the best candidate to help me reveal my secret. With you to corroborate my story, no one will doubt me. And if they do, I plan to release massive amounts of confidential data the government has collected about the travel habits of U.S. citizens.”

 “You can never let on that you know this information until it all comes out,” whispered Olivia. “You won’t be able to corroborate my story until you’re free of their control, so you must act out the rest of your trip without revealing a thing. And to answer your next question, I’m telling you all this now because this is the only opportunity I’ve got.”

“But what will happen if I do accidentally reveal that I know the truth before all of America knows?” asked Kieran.

“You’ll be branded an enemy of the state,” responded Olivia immediately and with certainty. “They’ll lock you up, without a trial, so fast that you won’t know what’s happened to you.” Kieran was starting to resent Olivia for putting him in this impossible position, but then he realized that he would have the chance to thwart the biggest deception ever foisted on the American public. He was still stunned that his government would throw out core civil rights in order to pursue an arguably imperialist agenda that involved meddling in the affairs of other nations.

 “How can I help?” he asked.

“When the information has been released and the press starts knocking on your door, I want you to grant every interview. I want you to get your story out there,” said Olivia.

“I’ll do it,” Kieran stated firmly.

“Excellent,” stated Olivia, and she got up to leave. “You’ll know when the time is right. I’m about to report that your meeting with Ms. Takahashi went splendidly. Oh…and there’s one more thing: if, during your ‘travels,’ you ever know with absolute certainty that you’re in danger, press this red button.” She reached into her pocket and took out a small device about the size of an eraser and handed it to Kieran. Before Kieran had time to ask her about the function of the button, Olivia stated, “Good luck,” and left.

 Back at the nondescript office building in northern Virginia, the government worker was typing commands into his computer, preparing for Phases Five and Six. “Is the Town Car in place?” asked his co-worker. “Yes,” replied the man. “And the generators in Warehouse 2C have been repaired.” “Terrific,” said his partner. “Rumor has it that Mr. Scofield himself will be on hand to observe the proceedings.”

 At the hotel, Kieran was getting ready to go to sleep. He had a big day tomorrow. He got in bed. After several of hours of tossing and turning, he finally got up, took a shower, and packed his bag. He headed upstairs where the hotel was serving breakfast and pretended to admire the view out the panoramic windows. All of today would be a performance, and he’d have to perform well enough to deceive the deceivers. He wasn’t going to deny it; he was more than a little nervous. What if he accidentally let something slip? He wasn’t looking forward to the idea of spending the rest of his life behind bars. Still, he knew that the success of Chen’s plan required his effort, and if things got out of hand, he could always press that mysterious little red button.

 Sixty-two floors below him, in the basement parking garage, the Town Car was being prepared. Technicians were scrutinizing its windows, checking for projection defects. The cameras mounted on the car’s underside were feeding information into the onboard computer, allowing it to project an image onto the windows that aligned perfectly with the movements of the car when it was in motion. Suddenly, the sound of an approaching vehicle made a few of the technicians look up. The arriving limo parked next to the Town Car and its door popped open. Out stepped a rather stern-looking man wearing a perfectly starched shirt and tie. “Mr. Scofield?” asked a technician uncertainly.

 After Kieran finished his breakfast, he headed back to his room. There was no point in trying to go outside again; he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to, and besides, he had seen plenty of Los Angeles already. He lived there, for goodness’ sake. He wondered if he’d ever leave the country again. He turned on his cell phone and called his husband, telling him that his meeting went well and that he would soon be home. A few minutes after he hung up, there was a knock on his door. It was his driver. Showing no sign of recognition, Kieran followed him into the elevator and they soon reached the basement parking garage, where the Town Car was waiting. Kieran got in and buckled his seatbelt, ready for the trip to the airport.

 As the Town Car was driving away, the black limousine pulled out of its parking space. Following the Town Car’s lead, it turned left out of the parking garage and headed for the freeway. LAX was just half an hour away.

 In the Town Car, Kieran started paying attention to the little details. They soon arrived at their destination. Now that he was examining it through fresh eyes, Kieran noticed that the airport that was supposedly Narita was strikingly similar to LAX. Sure, the views out the windows were different, but other than that it seemed pretty much the same. Going through security felt like déjà vu to Kieran; he half expected someone to remind him to remove his laptop from the laptop sleeve in his backpack again. This time, when he was on his way to the gate, he noticed that he appeared to be going down and speculated that the warehouse containing the simulator must be hidden underground.

 On the other side of the window that Kieran was staring at, which showed a view of a giant 747, workers and technicians scrambled to prepare the simulator. It was remotely operated by the facility in Virginia, but maintained by agents from the Los Angeles area. Supervising them was Mr. Scofield, who seemed mildly irritated about the pace of the preparations. “If you don’t have this equipment ready soon we may have to delay to the flight,” he mumbled crossly to himself. The last thing he needed was another complication, especially with The Boss rumored to be watching. He was determined to ensure that this simulated voyage would be flawless so that the President would green-light the larger operation. If that happened, surely a promotion was in the works.

 At the complex, the government worker was punching commands into his computer, initiating the start-up sequence. Soon, agents at the airport would begin the boarding procedure. Although all the passengers were from Flight 976 and all were expected to believe that they had spent the last few days in Tokyo, Mr. Scofield was paying special attention to Kieran Wilson. Kieran was one of the few people that tried to leave his hotel during the experiment.  Because of this, Mr. Scofield he had ordered the workers in Virginia to monitor Kieran closely during the transition period. The workers knew how much Mr. Scofield hated to be left out of the loop.

 At LAX, Kieran was boarding the plane. The familiar safety message was playing. He put his bag in the overhead compartment and buckled his seatbelt. Soon, the sound of jet engines pervaded the cabin and the windows depicted the runway quickly falling away beneath them. Kieran was spellbound. If he hadn’t known that it was all fake, he would have sworn that he was ten thousand feet in the air. He was just settling in for a long flight when he heard a woman gasping in the row in front of him. He studied her. He couldn’t be sure but he thought she was the pregnant woman he had sat next to on his earlier flight. She appeared to be in labor. Kieran was instantly at her side. “Someone, help!” he yelled desperately. “Please! This woman needs help!” A flight attendant rushed down the aisle and started talking frantically with the woman. She then ran back to the front of the plane. “Are there any doctors on board?” she pleaded over the intercom.

 2,305 miles away, the government worker hung up the phone. “It appears that we have a situation,” he said to his partner. And he described to her the news he had received from the plane’s captain. “You better call Scofield right away,” she said quickly.

 In Warehouse 2C, Mr. Scofield was being briefed about the status of the machinery that made up the simulator. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He picked up. “I see…” he said, his brow furrowing with worry. “No, we proceed as planned. Yes, you heard me correctly,” he barked, sounding suddenly incensed.

 In the office building in Virginia, the government worker was struggling to contain the doubt and uncertainty that was threatening to envelop him. Someone was about to give birth, for Pete’s sake. Surely that was more important than the initial success of this phase of the plan? His finger hovered over the blue button that he knew was a direct line to The Boss.

 Onboard the plane, Kieran was getting frantic and the woman was getting desperate. No doctor had materialized to assist with the delivery. “It’s all fake!” he wanted to scream. “If they wanted to, they could have you at a hospital within fifteen minutes!” He was about to yell this when he remembered the little red button. He reached into his pocket and, without hesitating, pressed it. He closed his eyes.

 Almost immediately, the engine sound ceased. The windows turned black. The slight vibration stopped. Emergency lights on the floor illuminated and the exit doors popped open. Plastic ramps inflated, creating a path to the ground. Terrified and uncertain, and despite the desperate calls of the captain and crew, the passengers hastily filed out of the plane. Imagine their surprise when they saw that they were in a dimly lit warehouse with the American flag propped up on a pedestal in the corner.

 At headquarters, an alarm was ringing. People were frantically scanning computer screens and picking up telephones. “You won’t believe this…” said the government worker to his partner. “But it appears that the entire system has just been powered down!”

 In Warehouse 2C, Mr. Scofield was stunned to see over a hundred people disembarking from the plane. Some were headed in his direction. Something must have gone terribly wrong. A vein popped in his forehead. They couldn’t be allowed to leave. If they did, all would be lost. Mr. Scofield could see his promotion slipping away from him with every passing second. This was a disaster! Angrily, he barked at the technicians that were lounging nearby: “Seal all the exits! I don’t want anyone leaving or entering this building! Have I made myself clear?”

 Suddenly, Mr. Scofield’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen. It was a blocked number. “Hello?” he growled. “Yes, Mr. Scofield,” said an assertive female voice. “I am calling to inform you that you are currently endangering the lives of U.S. citizens and facilitating a grand deception that has dangerous consequences for us all. Please release the passengers you have locked in your warehouse, and do so immediately.”

“Listen, I don’t know how you got this number, or how you know this information, but I am under orders to carry out the execution of this program and execute it I shall!” roared Mr. Scofield.

“Mr. Scofield,” declared the voice, “I’m afraid you don’t know the full details of the plan you are executing. Let me fill you in.” And she proceeded to tell him everything about how the program was a massive cover-up. “Now,” she said, “You must make a choice. Will you do what is best for this country and help me reveal the administration’s precious secret?”

“Listen, ma’am,” snarled Mr. Scofield, “My job is on the line here. And in addition, it is not my place to question the administration’s motives. I am simply following orders. I don’t know who you think you are or why you presume to order me around in this fashion, but I will not tolerate it!”

The woman on the other end of the line sighed. “Very well, Mr. Scofield…” she breathed, “You must do what you feel is right. Just remember, in the future, that you made this choice of your own volition and you must live with the consequences. Good day.” And she hung up.

Kieran was reaching for his cell phone to call for help when he realized that he didn’t know how the paramedics would be able to find the woman who was in labor. He was getting increasingly desperate. They needed to get out of here. He was wandering around the warehouse, frantically searching for an exit, when an angry-looking man in a suit approached him. “You!” he spat. “This is all your fault! A flight attendant has just informed me that she spotted you with some kind of remote control device right before the system shut down. Hand it over!”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” said Kieran with disgust, reaching into his pocket as if to remove the transmitter. Instead, he pressed it again. A buzzing sound instantly filled the warehouse. He looked up, completely ignoring the man’s tantrum. The ramp that had loaded the passengers onto the plane was descending. Soon, it reached the ground. Kieran ran over to it and tried its door. It opened. He found the pregnant woman and ushered her through the ramp. They quickly entered the airport.

 Kieran noticed immediately that the airport seemed to be in a state of disrepair. The windows were black and a large number of government agents appeared to be hard at work, modifying signs and altering shops. Kieran spotted his chauffer changing into a TSA uniform in a corner. He was reaching into his pocket for his cell phone to call for help when someone approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. “You won’t need that,” said a reassuring voice. “Help is already on the way.”

 In Warehouse 2C, Mr. Scofield’s cell phone rang again. He angrily answered it, wondering who it could be this time. It was the worker at the facility in Virginia. He sounded nervous. “Mr. Scofield?” he inquired. “It appears that the entire system has been taken offline.”

“No kidding!” spat Scofield. “Tell me something I don’t know!”

“There’s more…” said the worker. “The Boss is very angry. She has just arrived at the airport.”

“She’s here?” stammered Scofield. This was turning out to be a very unfortunate day indeed.

 Kieran turned around to see who had tapped him on the shoulder. Olivia Chen stood there, looking exhausted but satisfied. “You?” stammered Kieran uncertainly; then he started to figure things out.

“Yes,” Olivia responded. “As you may have guessed already, I am in charge of this project.”

“But…” Kieran said, uncertain at first, “you told me it would endanger and deceive the American people!”

“It will,” replied Olivia. “But I did not realize this until I had all the information, information which could only be obtained by someone of my stature.”

“But why didn’t you tell me you were in charge of this program when we met in the hotel?” inquired Kieran.

“Would you have trusted me if I had done that?” asked Olivia.

“Probably not,” admitted Kieran. “So why didn’t you resign once you realized how dangerous the program really was?” asked Kieran.

“I thought about doing that, but then realized that I could more effectively work against this program from the inside,” said Olivia. “All I needed was the cooperation of one or more of the passengers involved in the experiment. No one would believe me if I leaked the details of this program to the press. But with you and the rest of the passengers to corroborate my story, it’s highly likely that this program will be shelved and the administration thoroughly discredited.”

“So…” began Kieran, “You knew what that red button would do, and you hoped I would press it.”

“Yes,” stated Olivia, “Although my plan still would have worked if you were the only one who knew the truth.”

“But why didn’t you just disable the system yourself?” asked Kieran.

“I could have done that,” Olivia acknowledged, “but to do so without fully informing at least one of the passengers about the nature of the program probably would have resulted in confusion and chaos. Plus, I wanted to stay as far away as possible from the events of today so that the President would not suspect me of destroying her program until it was too late. After you shut the system down, I was able to…” Suddenly, Olivia stopped. She was cut off by the entrance of the paramedics, who rushed to the woman who was in labor and loaded her onto a gurney.

 “She’ll be all right,” stated Olivia, anticipating Kieran’s next question. “As I was saying, after you pressed the red button, I contacted my subordinate and explained everything, without revealing my identity, and gave him the opportunity to join us in destroying this program. He declined.”

“So am I the only one that knows that you’re behind all this?” asked Kieran.

“For now,” replied Olivia. “But it’s only a matter of time before the administration finds out. That’s why, in addition to calling an ambulance today, I called CNN, Fox, Reuters, the AP, and MSNBC. You better go collect your fellow passengers. The press conference starts in five minutes.”

 Kieran looked around. The rest of the passengers from Flight 976 appeared to be milling around confusedly. “Where are we?” asked a man who bumped into Kieran. “You seem to know what’s going on here.” 

“We’re at LAX,” responded Kieran.

Suddenly the room was filled with noise of sirens. Kieran looked at the large double doors that marked the entrance to the airport. They quickly opened to reveal an ambulance and stretcher. Olivia rushed over, practically dragging the pregnant woman out of the airport.

 Behind the ambulance was a van marked CNN, and several other vans bearing the names of other news organizations. Inside the airport was chaos. Kieran tried to direct people to sit in the chairs near Gate 51, which was the gate they had “arrived” at. Because he had known what to do once the simulator shut down, the other passengers largely listened to him, and in response to their questions, he insisted that the forthcoming press conference would provide the necessary details and answers.

 Olivia, having returned from the ambulance, stood on a chair and directed representatives from the five news organizations to sit nearby. She explained everything, and gave each reporter a dossier about the top-secret government project. Kieran corroborated her every word, and his fellow passengers were speechless. They went on the record with their experiences, and the government agents, who were still in the process of transforming the airport from Narita to LAX, dropped what they were doing and corroborated Olivia’s story after they learned the reason why they were so gainfully employed. No one is for this, thought Kieran.

 The news crews started to swarm around the gate, and reporters soon walked through the tunnel that led to the warehouse. Olivia pressed a button and the entirety of the massive room was illuminated by bright spotlights. Next to the American flag and flushing red with anger was the one and only Mr. Schofield. He scanned the crowd and singled out Kieran. “YOU!” he raged. “You’re the one who’s responsible for this.” He pointed at Olivia. “Arrest this man!”

“Actually,” said Olivia, “If anyone here needs to be arrested, it’s you.”

One year later…

Kieran was sitting in a 747. Above him, the screen was playing the familiar safety message. Just as it was ending, the face of the flight attendant left the screen, to be replaced by a depiction of a smiling woman looking directly into the camera. “And now a special message from President-Elect Chen,” the flight attendant narrated. “Hello travelers,” said Chen reassuringly, “I am delighted to announce that your flight today is powered by hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that’s only by-product is water. I am also pleased to announce that the United States now has the most environmentally-friendly fleet of aircraft in the world, an achievement that could not have been made possible without your help and cooperation. Thank you for your attention, and enjoy your flight!”

 Kieran looked at his husband and smiled. He took his hand. They were both looking forward to a well-deserved vacation. Before they knew it, the captain came on the intercom and announced that they were beginning their descent. Kieran looked out the window. He could see a bed of clouds and a bright orange setting sun. Soon, he felt a clunk as the plane’s landing gear hit the pavement of the runway. There was a ding as the seatbelt sign was turned off, and everyone rushed to collect their belongings and leave the plane. At the airport, Kieran and Harrison picked up their bags at the baggage claim and headed for the airport’s revolving doors. There was no underground parking structure. As they stepped into the outside world, Kieran admired the sunset and slowly sighed as he felt a gentle wind on his face. It was a good feeling.