Hi, Jack

Well! This is how my story ends. Falling to my death it a large metal tube. My life flashed before my eyes. It wasn’t very long. It wasn’t very exciting. I’ve don’t a few things. Not enough to mention. Now I was falling at 120 mph, the ground was getting closer every second. Fear paralyzed me as the mask dropped from the ceiling. The lady in the seat next to me had to help me get mine one. It was too late to pray. It was too late to call my children, my wife, my parents. There was no chance I’d ever see my family again. I was not the cool, calm, man I normally be. I cried like a baby. But, before the end, let me tell you how it all started.

I was on board the newest, hi-tec airplane in the sky. It wasn’t the biggest plane, only about 54 seats, all first-class style. It was to be the fastest. It was going from Chicago to Honolulu. A trip that takes normally about 12 and a half hours. We were to make the trip in about 3 hours. Less if we had clear skies.

Every seat was designed for comfort. There were 12 different massage settings, a button to control the firmness, built-in noise canceling speakers. You could listen to the in-flight movie without disturbing the person next to you. If basic movies aren’t your thing, each seat had its own VR goggles to watch in 3D or play games. To top it off, there was nobody in the cockpit. No pilot, no co-pilot. The plane was 100 percent completely automatic. Even the flight attendants were robotic.

You may be thinking, “A self-flying plane! NO WAY.” But why not. The world we live in is full of computer-controlled things. Self-driving cars are becoming very popular. My house is voice controlled. All I have to do is say something like; “Computer, what’s the weather today?” or “Computer, pre-heat oven at 350.” Or “Computer, microwave a bag of popcorn.” I can turn on lights, set my alarm, or even make a phone call just by asking a computer to do it. If I trust a computer to do everything else, why not fly an airplane.

The first thing I did was ask for something to eat. With the press of a button, a robotic servent came to me. “Hello!”, it said with an almost human like voice, “How may I be of assistance to you today?”

“I’m a little hungry. What’s on the menu?”

“We have Japanese Wagyu Ribeye served with Foie Gras and White Truffle, Iberico ham, sliced thin and served with roasted tomato and garlic on Goldleaf Bread. You have the option of adding a serving of Vietnamese Pho soup with either entrée. We also have a vast wine selection which should be on your screen now.”

I was impressed. I’m not what you would call wealthy. I had maybe $850 in the bank, and these were some of the most expensive meals on the planet. I was given this ticket to write a review in the paper. This was the first flight, after all.

“Hello!”, said the beautiful lady sitting next to me, “My name is Rachael, Rachael Hannigan.”

“John, John Beers. But my friends call me Jack.”

There were 12 people on this flight. Rachael, Bob Nelson, and I were the common people onboard. The ones with barely a dime to our names. The rest were millionaires except the owner of the plane who was a billionaire.

“Hi, Jack!” Rachael says.

Conversation starts:

“Hello! Rachael.”

She spoke as if she thought that I was one of the billionaires.

“So,” She said, “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a reporter for Chicago Gazette.”

I expected her to turn to the next guy and talk to him, but she continued with me.

Bob was speaking to Debra Nash. She was the daughter of a big oil company. She was cute but seemed like she had the brains of an acorn. Not my type.

But as dumb as she was, it was her that realized the screens turned red.

“Hay! The screen is red now!”

“Danger – Danger – Stay Calm – The situation in under control.”

“Computer!”, I said, “What is the situation?”

“The plane is under attack.”

Just as Rachael stands up to look out the window, restraints cover her seat.

“Warning! Fail to restrain Rachael Hannigan.”

Then, one of the robotic flight attendants grabbed her and took her to an unknown location.

“Computer, why did you detain Rachael?”

“I have evidence that she is the conspirator.”

“What evidence?”

The answer to that question may come to a shock for some, but you must realize that there are some things that you just can’t say while on an airplane.

One of those words is “bomb”. No matter in which context you use it, the word “bomb” can cause quite a panic. Another word you cannot use is “hijack”.

“She was heard talking about a hijack.”

“No, you fool.”, says Bob, “She didn’t say hijack. She said Hi,” he pauses to let it sink in, “Jack. She was saying hello to Jack.”

Suddenly, Bob was taken away also.

“Computer!”, I say, “What’s going on?”

“Bob Nelson is believed to be a co-conspirator.”

“What’s wrong with this stupid plane?”, said Debra, “It’s not like we said we got a bomb. They only said….”

“Warning! Detain Debra Nash! She is carrying an explosive device. Analyzing possible targets.”

There goes Debra.

About 10 seconds pass.

“Target found! Sending warning to Pearl Harbor.”

Pearl Harbor is the most visited place in Hawaii. It is the site where Japan crashed a plane, bringing The US into World War II. It seems that if there was an attack, it would be the spot.

At this point, we could feel the plane turning.

“Computer, what’s happening?”

“Diverting away from Pearl Harbor.”

“Why?”

“A crash at sea would be better than a crash into a populated area.”

“Do anyone know how to fly a plane?”

One man, whose name I never knew, said, “I can, but the cockpit is locked while on auto pilot.”

“Computer, turn off auto pilot.”

“Unable to comply. Authorization of Don Rogers is needed.”

Don, the owner, said, “Computer, Authorization 4-2-5-W-X-K, turn off auto pilot.”

“Mr. Rogers, you voice sound in duress.”

“I am being kidnapped by my own airplane.”

“Mr. Rogers is in duress. Access denied.”

“OK!”, said Don, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but there is another way into the cockpit.”

“Warning! Any attempt to take over plane would result in self-destruct.”

“OK!”, I said, “We must remember, we can be heard. Wait! Do the plane really have a self-destruct.”

“I’d rather not say.”, Don said, “But we need to move quickly. Does anyone have a portable charger? “

After obtaining charger, he calls the computer for a flight attendant. Being of low priority, there would be less security getting one.

While it’s coming, he pulls a device out of his bag. It looks like a credit card with wires sticking out of it. He attached the wire to the charger.

“This is a bit of old tech, to defeat high tech.”

“I am your attendant. How may I help you today.”

“This is Don Rogers.”, he says as calmly as possible, “Authorization 4-2-5-W-X-K. I request a R75BYN connection.”

At this point, a panel opens in the front of the robot with a credit card slot. Inserting the card into the slot, all of the robots shut down, and a panel opens on the cockpit door with a number pad.

“The system can still see and hear us, but it can’t attack us now. And, I may have access to the auto pilot.”

He types a code into the number pad and the computer calls out, “Welcome Back Don Rogers.”

The door to the cockpit opens, everyone cheers, and walk in. With the press of a few buttons, 3 things happened. The first was the words, “Auto Pilot Disengaged.”

This resulted in even more cheers. The 2nd, Rachael and Bob are released, the 3rd wasn’t so cheerful.

“Warning! Don Rogers has switched loyalties. Self-Destruct in 5 minutes.”

“Computer”, Said Don, “Disengage Self-Destruct.”

“Cannot comply. Unable to detain Don Rogers. No Attendants Available.”

Quickly, Don takes a dime, uses it to unscrew a panel, and pull apart a few wires. The countdown stops.

“I can’t believe it was that easy.”, I said.

As soon as I spoke, the plane began to drop out of the sky.

This is where you came in. I was falling at 120 mph; the ground was getting closer every second. Fear paralyzed me as the mask dropped from the ceiling. The lady in the seat next to me had to help me get mine one. It was too late to pray. It was too late to call my children, my wife, my parents. There was no chance I’d ever see my family again. I was not the cool, calm, man I normally be. I cried like a baby.

Then Racheal jumped up, grabbed the controls and pulls up just in time. Well, we still crashed. In fact, we crashed at Peral Harbor. But we survived. All of us was taken away and treated for injuries. When all of us were away from the plane, you could hear the faint sounds:

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1”

BOOM!