It was December 5 2022, and the Harts were in a jovial mood. They were going to spend their vacation in Hawaii. This prospect excited the family, specifically Esther, who had suggested the idea months ago, and right now, they were about to spend their dream vacation there!
"Hey sweetie, did you see my pack of shorts?" John shouted from downstairs. "No, uh, yeah! It's right here. Honey go give this to your dad" Martha replied and handed the box to Nicolas. Nicolas then rhythmically climbed down the stairs and handed the box to John.
John then neatly and carefully packed most of the family beach outfit in a travelling bag. He then placed carried the bag to the car boot which he remotely opened and place the bag inside.
James, however, wasn't too excited about this. He was just getting to know his new neighbourhood, but right now, they were really busy as they frantically move here and there preparing to spend their vacation in Oceania.
It seems this family does travel a lot. James thought.
James packed his little clothes into his bag, along with his beach suit and his tree-themed shorts. Martha had gone shopping earlier for the entire family to purchase the outfits appropriate for the family and painstakingly picked up the correct sizes and preferences for each person. By the look of her face, one could tell that she too was enthusiastic to travel to Hawaii.
"Mom, how about this?" Esther asked as she placed a swimsuit she picked from the clothes hanger to her body. "Aww honey you look pretty, but these clothes kind of expose your abdomen. I don't want you to gain unnecessary attention when you swim on the beach."
Esther sighed as she hung the suit back. She then stared at her mum before saying "Mom, is James going to be okay? He has a lot going on, and to top it all, he has pneumonia. Are you sure this is the right decision to spend our vacation in, you know, Hawaii?"
"Of course, honey. We are not violating the doctor's instructions, are we? We are just going to spend a week in Hawaii and enjoy it as a family along with James." Martha replied. Esther then nodded as she strolled the aisle for suits of her size.
James stared at the mirror for a long time, a strange young boy staring back at him. "What kind of bump would make me forget my appearance?" James sighed. He wished he could get at least a scrap of his memory, so he would at least, know who he was.
It was strange to look at a mirror every single day to see a strange person like he was wearing someone else's skin. 'I need to get used to this, that is until AI recovers my memories' he assured himself.
"James, are you set? Come down quick, we can't be late for our flight" Martha loudly informed James, who was still speculating as to whether he should wear a coloured sock or white sock. "Yeah aunt Martha, I'm ready" he replied in a soft voice.
20 minutes later, they arrived at the airport. John then went ahead and handed their large belongings to the luggage carrier. He then signalled his family and passed through the airport security, and just like that, they were on a plane heading to Hawaii.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have now begun to take off. Please fasten your seatbelts as you begin your 10 hours flight from California, the United States to Hawaii, Oceania. Have a great day".
The flight attendant announced. With that James then strapped himself, when he began to feel vibrations from the plane, which made him a little bit scared. Martha, who was seated next to him, wrapped her hands into his. "It's okay, it is normal. Aeroplanes vibrate when they leave the ground, it's normal." She stared at James' eyes as she lovingly said.
James looked at Martha and nodded. "Have I ever been on a flight before?" he asked. "Yes, you have, couple of times, and tell you what, Our family once followed your family as we all went to France, the city of love," Martha said, with a tinge of nostalgia in her voice.
"Is dizziness part of the experience of someone new to flying?" James asked because he began to feel lightheaded. "Oh yeah, but again it's normal" she reassured, as she laid back on the seat and sighed contentedly. "Try to do something fun, watch some movie, or you could rest because this flight would take a long time."
James nodded and followed her advice. He then took out headphones on the left side of the seat. He then took out his mobile phone, connected to the aeroplane's Wi-Fi and as he began to play random music.
"Hi AI, you haven't spoken to me since yesterday. Are you, all right?" James asked in his thought.
[James hi! I'm never better. So, how is your experience first time flying, as a clean slate] the AI asked, with an obvious joke on his voice. "Terrible. Apart from the fact that I have an urge to puke constantly, my ears are making funny sounds" James complained. "Can you explain to me why these are happening?" he asked.
[As aunt Martha said, It's normal. Let me explain to you]
[This phenomenon is caused by a change of pressure of the atmosphere when the aeroplane climbs or descends. Your eustachian tube or the middle part of your ear balances the pressure from inside and outside of your head.]
[But irregular changes in pressure often causes the ear to not react fast enough, causing that popping sound. Try swallowing something, and the popping would stop.]
James did as the AI told him to do, and it worked. He relaxed contentedly. "AI, can you do something for me? I know it might sound weird, but I want to know the altitude of this plane. Are you capable of doing it?" James asked.
[Capable? Humph. The altitude of this plane is at 41,500 feet currently.]
"Right, that's the minimum safe altitude of a commercial plane, right?"
[Right, go to sleep James because it's going to be a long flight]
On the sixth hour of the flight, AI suddenly activated James consciousness. James found himself in that strange emptiness dimension. "Wait, where am I?" James asked.
[You are in your neural space. I brought you here because I want to warn you of something. The aeroplane is having a serious problem. I've collected the stats of these planes and realized that the second engine is failing. In the next 9 minutes, the engine would fail. Please inform the pilot quickly!] the AI was anxious.
"What! How! Why! No no no it cannot happen now!" James wanted to cry. He could not understand why he was attracting trouble everywhere. His parent was killed because of him, and now, the Harts lives are in danger.