The Competition

The Competition

1. Wake up

Ralph struggles to open his eyes, lifting his head is a weight. The muffled voices around him start to become clearer, and so does his vision. He looks around the empty table for 4 that he’s seated in; and examines the train carriage from his seat. The carriage is old fashioned, with soft worn material seats; elegant white antimacassars contrasted against its deep burgundy. He turns and stares at the scenes from the window. The train racing adjacent a deep blue river that trails across the bottom of a mountainous backdrop. The shadows of the peaks dance in the reflections of the water. Ralph mouths, “Where the fuck am I?”.

Ralph homes in on the indistinct conversation that’s coming from seating further down. He raises from his chair and moves cautiously down the aisle. “Edge of the world it said. What’s the edge of the world? It’s not run by those stupid flat-earthers is it?” the husky voice is of a woman. “it’s a saying! The edge of the world, heaven on earth… the promised land! I still can’t believe it’s us” the response came from an eager sounding man. Ralph proceeds forward, stepping into their eyesight. “Oh, hi there. You’re up” the woman speaking is in her mid-40s with a beautiful and tired face. Sat next to her is a teenage girl with a blank expression engrossed in the book “animal farm”. She glances over. A largely built man in his 50s on the other side of the 4-seater turns around “Well someone’s finally woken up, about time, I’m Chris”, he half stands up and sticks out his hand, Ralph is reminded of how lean he is and shakes it firmly. He nods, “Ralph”. The teenage girl waves and says “Ava” in acknowledgement and returns to her book. The woman to her right clears her throat “I’m Cam- Camilla”, “Hi, Cam-Camilla. What happened? I don’t remember how I got here” ralph asks.” “That makes the four of us, the fifth is still conked out, we tried waking you both, but I think we were all in quite a deep sleep.” she replies, Camilla gestures to another four-seater behind them revealing an elderly man snoring loudly, mouth wide open and his face pressed against the glass of the window.

∎

“It’s the competition of course - the trip to Utopia, we’re already on our way!” Chris preaches. “So, what? they drug us and stick us straight on a train? – is that even fucking legal?” argues Ralph “Watch your language in front of the girl Ralph”. “She looks old enough, plus she’s heard worse on her phone”, Ava smirks from behind her book. Camilla leans onto the table, “I was at a birthday party with my kids – and I just woke up here, this is ridiculous, we’ve basically been kidnapped”. “I’m sure they’ve arranged proper care for your kids, if they can bring us here swiftly, I’m sure they could do that too. A screen above their heads turns on with a blank screen, “it’s shitty for you, but I’d rather be here than my excuse for a home” says Ava and puts her book down. The logo for the tech and media corporation TRIDENT appears on screen.

2. The screening

Fireworks play on the screen with congratulations written in the centre. A man with the enthusiasm of a TV show host appears and presents: “Congratulations to you lucky five! you all entered TRIDENT’s competition of a lifetime! In just 12 hours on TRIDENT’s ultra-train, you all will have the exclusive privilege to see the edge of the world. A pure, safe haven, a utopia. For confidentiality, we’ve stunned you with our cognitron machine which you all agreed to in our T’s and C’s! You might still feel discombobulated, but don’t worry! That goes away! Lunch and Dinner is served at the end of the carriage that can be selected by the interactive menu boards. This is an exclusive train so there aren’t any other carriages, but don’t worry! the conductors will be keeping an eye on you for your health and safety through the onboard cameras. Now sit back, relax, entertain yourselves with the multimedia players at your seats and you’ll be there before you know it! And congratulations once again!”. The presenter exits offscreen to the tune of a saxophone.

The sleeping man wakes to the jolly music with a grunt, and a snort. Everyone turns their heads and lurk into his eyesight. “Oh, hi. Is this it? The competition has started, I been waiting since they announced it” he croaks in broken English. He looks and awes at the window. The train reaches the border of land and sea and surpasses it. “This must be a first of its kind” says Chris, “yes, I thank god, I am so lucky, what a marvel to behold” the man replies; Chris pats him on the shoulder. After a few seconds no land is visible, there are only tones of blue – a spectrum of shades blurring the lines between sea and sky.

∎

The man introduces himself as Kang, and once they all grab lunch, they all talk about their lives back home. Ava is more than happy to just be out- “my family treats me like a prisoner, hardly letting me do anything I want”. “Family knows best, when me and my girlfriend have kids, we’ll be the best team all of us. I’m sure it’s for your own good” replies Chris. “I need to find a way to ask about my kids” Camilla confesses, “there must some way to speak to them, the stewards, conductor anyone – there’s no wifi… hmm and they had summer break next week.” Ralph stares blankly at his food, “we’ll find a way to talk to someone, I need to get back too. There must be a communications area onboard". Kang gulps his drink before speaking, “well sure, I think the kids will be ok dear, they are professionals. I am just looking for fresh start is all. My family all don’t have time for me anymore and there is so much of the world to see, I am making a fresh start. I had no idea I would actually win, man. I got more life.

3. There is something wrong with the view

Chris heads over to try and connect with Ava about her family. The reception he gets is of an angsty atheist with which his blind faith doesn’t appreciate. “You know they’re trying to open the carriage. Maybe it is all locked for security. I believe in Trident, and we have been put on this safe pathway”. Ava looks at him, “you look like you’re afraid of me, and like you’re trying to convert me. It’s not god’s work its mankind’s. Do you think your dream of heaven or whatever could be done without all this? Chris stands up dismissively, “no belief from the youth these days, you will come to see, somethings are merely beyond our grasp”. He stands up and looks up directly into the black of the camera above them before heading back to his own seat.

∎

Camilla joins Ralph and Kang, “ok, so one bathroom, two doors both securely locked and none of the windows can open”. “And we’re probably safe from a nuclear attack too” ralph jests. “And no stewards, no interaction, no way of contacting the conductor”. “May I also confess something?” Kang says sheepishly. “Of course, what’s up?” Camilla reassures. “There is something wrong with the view. I am not a well-travelled man, but we passed Shuri Castle – I have never been myself, but my parents many times. A beautiful shrine.” “Did it look different?” asks Ralph”. “Well, gosh my friends, Shuri Castle has been destroyed in 2019 by fires.” “Are you certain it was the same place? Asks Camilla “very certain, but it does not make sense to me. Perhaps my memory is getting worse than I think. I’m sure you’re right, maybe a different caslte”. Ralph and Camilla throw each other a disconcerting look before gazing at the windows.

4. The Hatch

Ralph addresses the other passengers, “this is all too 1984 for me, we need to find out what’s up with this train. See the dumbwaiter we got lunch from, there’s a hatch at the top of the compartment if we hold the doors we could unscrew, and I think it’s big enough to get through.”. “How will we do that?” asks Kang. “I have my Swiss army knife with me; I’ve already unscrewed my armrest” he holds it up proudly. “We can secure the doors open with it and Ava, could squeeze through”. She starts to shake her head, “I can’t – I, I’m to claustrophobic”. Her fragility becomes evident to the others. Her malnourished figure, her hearing aid and now this. Camilla raises her hand “I can do it; I should just about fit”. “Hmm. Alright, but only if, you’re sure. Chris rises, “I am standing no part in this – let the record show. You’ll just break it, and they’ll end up charging you for it!” says Chris before returning to his seat and resuming a film.

5. Static

Camilla manages to wedge through the space to get into a type of storage room. Only the food, and a robotic delivery system fills the space. There is also a door. “Hey guys! There’s a door! Pass me through that pocketknife, I think I can take the handle off a door here. Sure! No problem replies Ralph. Chris is back out of his seat, “Why are you encouraging this?” Chris takes the swiss army knife from Ralph’s hand. Come on, and its Trident they make everything I own at home, I’m sure they’re reliable.” “Everything is locked, we’re trapped here, they wouldn’t do that for no reason.” says ralph, “we haven’t even been told where this holiday destination is. None of this is comforting. And… there’s something wrong with the view, Kang saw it but it’s not just that it feels off, it could be augmented for all we know.” Chris shakes his head and chuckles, “You’re paranoid Ralph”. A shout comes from the hatch, “Never mind, I managed to open it MacGyver style!”.

∎

Several minutes go by, the silence of waiting is broken by a high-pitched ringing, interference appears on the multimedia screens, even Ava’s hearing aid screeches, she winces and hits it off to the ground. “Camilla must have found something” says Ralph. Chris picks up the hearing aid and notices the faint audio, - “after economic collapse, energy crisis further strained oil production, the U.S then sanctioned red”- Ava takes the hearing aid back from his hand and grimaces “I have it connected to an audio book; learning is key even I know that”. The door at the rear of the carriage opens, “you guys won’t believe this” Camilla huffs.

The four step out of the door, exiting the carriage into a large engine room with connecting corridors. Looking back, they can see the carriage they were just in was a separate entity within this larger space; held into the flooring by suspension beams. Chris looks as if he has just been slapped. Kang steps forward “what on earth…” Ava retches. She swallows, pauses. She vomits and groans. “You ok Ava?” Camilla rubs Ava’s back. Ralph passes her some water from the carriage, “do you feel those vibrations? It’s like we’re standing in white noise. I bet it’s messing up your hearing aid – it can affect your balancing centres, right?”. Camilla tests Ava’s temperature, “hmm - I think you should maybe stay in the carriage. There must some sort of stabilisation in there. Ava hiccups “yeah – fine, this is making me feel queasy”. The remaining four decide to split and investigate the connecting engine rooms.

6. This is not a train

Kang and Chris walk along a corridor and quickly find a sector of giant cables 10ft wide and hundreds of metres long, the further they walk the more they find of the same. “How big does this get I wonder; it must be super massive! We could be under water the size if this thing? Maybe it’s a submarine” Kang asks. Chris sullenly examines the room; the surrounding static making more noise than his breathing.

∎

Camilla and Ralph reach multiple red herrings down a maze of industrial type rooms. “Wherever we end up going, at least there are extra rooms now – I don’t particularly see my utopia as bunking with Chris the Christian. Camilla laughs and pats him on the back “he will find you and WILL convert you”.

They reach a door that looks different and cautiously enter. Ahead of them stands a rumbling large unit, with a glow emanating in the dimly lit space. Camilla dances forward “hey I’ve got one of these, I do my washing in it all the time”, ralph smiles. “Well, it’s a good thing it’s here, we only have the clothes we’re wearing”. Camilla sits on top of it, her legs dangling off the edge, “I know! And even that seems like too much right now”. Ralph catches something in his throat and they both smile. He edges up to her, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re liking these vibrations”. “Now what would give you that idea?” she smirks, pulling at the creases of her dress. Ralph puts his hand on her leg and moves it up her thigh. She leans back, his other hand holds her body and cups her chest. She pulls him closer.

∎

“They said it was a train – they said, IT WAS PROMISED!”. Don’t worry my boy, I’m sure we still are on the way, God has a plan for us, by the mercy of his grace we are… THUCK. Kang stands there immobilised, his eyes frozen. His body slumps to the floor. The red handle of the Swiss army knife sticks out from the side of his head. Chris stands over him. Gurning his teeth, his leg fidgeting and he looks around.

7. Come in, Tweety bird

Camilla and Ralph find countless other rooms with the same kind of unit and decide to head back to the carriage. Ava is peacefully curled up in a ball on her seat. Chris enters the carriage moments after they reach. “Heya, where’s Kang?” asks Camilla, “he left before me, said he started to feel uneasy too. He not back yet?”. The carriage jerks, the automated turbulence starts to reduce, waking Ava. “We’re slowing down, wait how long has it been?”, Chris checks his watch “well, it’s been almost 10 hours now”, Ava rubs her eyes, “that can’t be right, it’s a non-stop”.

∎

Ava thrusts to a backpack under the table and pulls out a clear phone shaped object. “Something has gone wrong we shouldn’t be slowing down this early, it’s takes 12 hours to get there”, and where’s Kang?”. Camilla looks at the others, “he might’ve gotten lost. Maybe whoever’s running this knows we got out of the carriage”. Ava fiddles with her hearing aid. “My feed has stopped too, this isn’t good.”. “Feed? What d’you mean? You’ve got a connection through that, to communicate?” Ralph’s tone is firm. Ava’s candour changes, “you all wanted a fresh start that’s where we’re going a fresh start. “Chris grabs her by the shoulders “you know what this is? Where are we?”. Camilla pulls him off and breathes deeply. “Ava, surely, we haven’t been in space or something, were we maybe underwater? Do you know where we were heading? Ava continues to her attention to her hearing aid and begins to explain.

“It’s not a bad guess but we’re on land. We’re on Trident’s generator, it uses ultra – superconductivity. So basically, like a superfast train around the earth. “Superfast. How fast exactly?” asks Ralph. “Almost 300,000km/s”. “She is lying” says Chris. “Ok so we’re on a train – inside a generator that’s been circling the earth? What has this to do with the competition, why put us on here? Camilla asks. “Well, the so-called Utopia is in the future. Trident have made some pretty big breakthroughs and travelling at close to the speed of light was undreamt of. Travelling that fast causes a time dilation. Our exit was supposed to be 2120, but slowing down early means something has gone wrong, it would be about 2101 by now.”

Chris sits down, “no this isn’t right, it can’t be right”. “A.I calculated restorative measures for global warming would start equalising not long after. It should be Exciting huh. No matter what." replies Ava “How could you know all this?” Ralph challenges. “Trident raised me”, “You we raised by an A.I?”, “Yes, I helped make this possible.” The hearing aid crackles - a faint voice is heard “this is alpha 6, come in Tweety bird”. Ava continues, “when the outer doors open, we’ll be 82 years in the future.”