Spoken

The terminal is exceptionally crowded for a Tuesday.  All the lines leading to the check in counter have at twenty people in the lines leading to them.  Behind the check in the counters the clerks dressed in their bright blue flight suits look stressed and tired.  Fortunately they only have to arrange for the customer’s journey and nothing else since none of the passengers are carrying any luggage.1

“Destination?” the clerk asks the woman who comes up next in line.  She never looks up from her computer screen, just continues to type on the keyboard.2

“Saturn.”3

“Purpose of visit?  Business or pleasure?”4

“Business, well, er sort of business.  I’m a student and I need the visit for a paper I’m doing for my creative writing class.”5

“Thought transfer please.” the clerk comments in a matter of fact tone while holding out her hand.6

The woman turns over the blue ticket as requested.  “Will this take long?  I have a date later.”7

Examining the ticket the clerk returns it.  “This is a grade two ticket.  It is only good for three continents on this planet.”8

“But you don’t understand.  I already turned in my report topic in class.  I have to visit Saturn.”9

“Then you will have to return to the travel agency for an upgrade.  I trust you do have the necessary vouchers and permits to qualify for the upgrade?”10

“I have no idea.  My dad arranged for the ticket.”11

“Well if I were you I would start by going back to the travel agent and then let them tell you what you need to do next.  Sometimes it can be handled by simple a telepathic message .”12

“Really?”13

“Yes.”14

“Great.  Well hopefully I'll be back in a few minutes.”15

The clerk doesn’t hear a word the woman says.  She just continues to glare at her monitor.  When the next person in line stands in place of the woman she again asks without looking up from the screen.  “Destination?”16

“Neptune.”17

“Nature of visit?  Business or pleasure?”18

“Pleasure.”19

“Thought transfer please.”20

This time the man hands her a green ticket.  The woman examines it and then asks, “Interval of stay?”21

“Three hours?”22

“I’m sorry, but your ticket is good for either two or twelve hour visit not three.”23

“Twelve?”  The man asks.  “Okay.  Let me have it for twelve.”24

Swiping the ticket through a small slot on a machine, the clerk hits a button that opens a small silver door about three feet tall, which is located to the right of her monitor.  She hands the man the ticket and then says, “Follow the green footsteps please.”25

The man nods even though she still never looks up from her terminal.  Afterwards he steps pass the door, which immediately closes behind him.  He does as instructed and follows the green footsteps on the floor.  They lead to a huge silver egg shaped chamber.  The moment he is standing in front of it the door on the front slides open.  Stepping inside the door closes.  Then the egg sinks below the floor and a different egg descends from the ceiling to take its place.26

Inside the chamber the man sits patiently.  This isn’t his first journey in one of these things.  Confidence has replaced the anxiety of uncertainty that had dogged him from the first time he had been in one of these chambers.27

He waits for the light on the small panel in front of him to change from red to green.  Then it will be time to complete his journey before returning to his job and other matters.28

For a moment he thinks back to the past.  Not the distant past, but the recent one.  That was before this kind of option was available.  Then a person had to depend solely upon dreams to travel to other worlds.  It just wasn’t the same.29

Finally the light on the panel turns from red to green.  He exhales and then closes his eyes.  Softly he utters in his mind, “Neptune.”30

Immediately after speaking the word by thought, the man opens his eyes and finds himself on the surface of Neptune.  As on other trips he can see and even feel to a degree his surroundings within the limits of his senses.  There is a hint of the cold, but not as cold as the actual temperature.  Fortunately since only his consciousness has traveled he doesn’t have to worry about things like breathing or any threats to his existence.31

“Forward,” he mind thinks to himself.  Lacking any voice, he can’t use his lips, but thinking it still accomplishes the same thing as long as he hears the words in his head.32

That is the only detractor to this form of travel.  One can literally think yourself anywhere that is real, but you have to  voice it in your head, not merely create a picture.  And every action has to be heard in your head or nothing happens.  It is laborious, but still an improvement over the past when daydreams gave one the closest to this form of entertainment.33

“Search,” he says while the planet becomes clearer in detail in his mind.  He really isn’t sure what he is trying to find during this trip.  His boss has some grandiose idea that they can use this new form of travel to discover hidden minerals or other valuables on planets.  Supposedly his boss claims that he has some miracle means to actually arrange for a space flight and harvest the minerals if they are found.  The traveler doesn’t really care, he just is getting paid to take this trip and look around.  So he’ll do it and today since he’s stuck for twelve hours he’ll live with the fact that one can charge overtime for the day’s labors.  That will make it all worthwhile.  Hopefully.  Even though he hasn’t a clue how he’s going to keep himself entertained by just gawking at Neptune’s landscape.  There were places that did have some weird life forms to watch, but not on this hunk of rock. 34

At the corporate headquarters of the Seers Plus Inc. Max Walters sits at his desk feeling bored.  He was the mastermind behind the new technology that brought the world travel by shear thought with the help of his chamber.  It was a major accomplishment and did in many ways vindicate his many years of less than sterling performance for his employer.  They had hired him because he had demonstrated a certain potential for being brilliant in regards to new technology.  However the flame of potential only burns so long before somebody expects it to shine with results.35

So in a moment of drunken inspiration brought on by anxiety and depression he had doodled the egg on a bar napkin.  It began his current journey of discovery that had resulted in the final product that was making millions in profit for his employer.  Max was certainly not being left without the perks as a result, just not enough to satisfy his ego.36

Beyond a huge raise and additional benefits he was promoted to Vice President and given a plush office.  In time he was reduced to doing nothing except crunching numbers and filling out reports.  That is all he ever did any longer.  It earned him his paycheck, but inside that need for attention from inventing something new still haunted him.  Even though nobody was complaining or expecting him to somehow come up with anything new, he felt disappointed in himself and his failure to go beyond his current brainchild.37

Finally pushing the papers away from in front of him, Max reached into a drawer and pulled out a file folder.  Inside was his latest idea that he hoped would change all that.  It was the future that he wanted and dreamt about.38

What he had in his view was a brilliant new version of his present invention.  This had one special new modification and feature.  It didn’t depend upon reality as a destination.  If the mind could conceive it and then speak it as a thought, you were there.39

He had worked out the details quietly and without boasting to anyone.  That had been remarkably easier than he imagined despite his normal tendency for finding ways to show off his supposed genius.  What had bogged down his effort to make it workable was finding the right design for the transporter other than the actual technology.  An egg would simply be unworthy of trips into fantasy.40

Max had given it lots of thought.  He had tinkered for days with coming up with just the right statement in terms of designed.  Not being a bad artist he enjoyed his own drawings of his concept.41

Still part of him also understood that no matter how much of an improvement the new device was, it had to be affordable.  A solid gold chamber of any shape was out of the question no matter how great he thought it might look.  No, he had to come up with a design that was both appealing and at the same time easy to manufacture.42

Sitting back, he looked at his latest design option.  He seemed to be the most reasonable and had that special quality he just couldn’t dismiss.  It was just a question as to whether it was practical.43

Max put his hands on the keyboard of his computer.  Typing in his request, he waits.  In a few seconds the computer came back with the details.  The one good thing about the computer program the company provided was that he could have it do the numbers of projected costs.  Excellent, with the right use of plastics made to look like stones or metal each unit would be no more costly than the eggs.  So that was it, a mini-pyramid would work.44

However before he unveiled this latest upgrade to his system he needed to test it out first.  If there was one thing Max was good at it was being prepared.  There was no way he was going to try and top his first invention with one that didn’t work.  His superiors would never cough up another big raise if his latest offspring didn’t perform flawlessly.45

He wouldn’t even have to go to this trouble if people could handle the truth.  Any chamber was mainly a psychological tool to help people adjust to the idea.  In reality, all you needed was to slip a small portable device about the size of a wristwatch onto your wrist, activate it, close your eyes and let your mind speak the destination.  Those egg chambers were the idea of the marketing department to make people more comfortable with the whole process.  Max understood how important that was from a selling point so he also knew that any knew upgrade had to have the same feature to get the “suits” to accept any change.46

All of that was for the benefit of the simpletons.  They needed that kind of crutch.  Not him.  He was too sophisticated in his thinking to have to deal with such ideas.47

Now all he had to do what slip the little working model on his wrist, close his eyes and give it a test drive.  Strapping the unit on, Max smiled.  Only he knew this latest little upgrade was going to allow the visitor a chance to think their way to his or her greatest fantasies.  Reality had been a big draw.  People loved visiting other planets and galaxies.  But imagine their greater thrill when they got a shot at visiting some place only their mind could imagine?  Now that was going to really be a special new and exciting change.48

Only Max had to try it first.  Slowly he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to concentrate for a second.  Then he thought the word that was going to take him to his most desired fantasy.49

Max immediately found himself on what seemed to be a South Sea island with bright purple sand on the beach.  In the distance there were several young beautiful women.  He could feel himself smiling since in addition to this upgrade allowing you to visit your fantasies it also gave you the illusion of a body.  Walking down the beach he looked forward to actually living out one of those fantasies you never expect to come true.50

Then he sees the women walking towards him.  They smiled, revealing fangs dripping with blood!  Suddenly he realizes he has made a terrible error in his calculation.  The device does send you to your fantasies, but it manages to end up blending both the good and bad ones!  Immediately the women pounce on him and begin feasting on his vulnerable flesh like a pack of ravenous wolves.  He screams his thoughts, but it does no good.  Adding the sense of feeling to this upgrade only made terror even greater.51

Back in his office Max suffers a fatal heart attack from his fantasy.  His body slumps over in his chair and will later be discovered by his secretary.  The company will manage to cope with his loss, especially thanks to discovering his latest upgrade to their product from the detail notes in his computer files as well as his wrist model.  As with so many such upgrades it will put into production and use without the testing needed to see if it is safe.52