Excerpt: The Travel Agency

Jessica squinted into the sunlight and lifted her long graceful arm to shield her eyes. Perhaps today would be a good day for some lemonade or juice. And maybe perhaps, today would be a great day to die. Looking out across the small community she’d help build from scratch, Jessica some how knew God was sending a message. She could feel the vision foisting itself upon her, demanding that she bring on the arsenic. No one needed to know. Or perhaps the horse tranquilizers. But today, was the day everyone would die. God had prepared their heavenly home and this temporal place was to be abandoned.

Jessica headed towards the slop hall and nodded as people stopped to give her short bows. Every now and then she’d stop, touch someone’s shoulder and give a meaningful look and a word or two. “Today.” “I have had a revelation, sister.” And the word spread rapidly. People began to flock towards her. Instead of the kitchen she opted for the congregation room. She moved towards the pulpit and sat down, waiting for fifteen minutes until every last one of her disciples arrived. Then she stood and approached the microphone.

“Brothers and sisters! Today! Today is the day! When I exited my quarters and beheld the glorious sun and saw the clear blue skies, I knew! I was stricken with a fever and God looked upon me and cast into my mind a vision of a world far more paradisaical then this, a world filled with peace and love and harmony and filled with the bounteous love He has for us! Today, is the day we take the pills. When each of your arrived you agreed that I would call for us to partake and today is that day! In forty five minutes, at the stroke of noon, when the glorious sun is at it’s zenith, we will all commune with the great Creator. Disperse my brothers and my sisters. Disperse and gird yourself in the cloth of gold and prepare to receive the Holy Communion. Prepare to meet your maker.”

Jessica grasped the edges of her podium, and shook slightly. The congregation stood and murmured and began to move back to their living quarters. Today! Today was the day! Their joy infused the world and today they would commune with their Lord in Heaven Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!

As the room emptied, Jessica looked around and smiled. Today, her people would join Christ and she could move on to bring more until the fold of the Lord. Today she would slaughter her sheep as a sacrifice to the Lord and help bring about the Second Coming. Today was a glorious day.

*~*~*~*

The Travel Agency had been in business for ten years. They had really booked vacations for people through out the ten years. But five years ago, the government subsidized them and asked they begin some “market research.” It started with some random surveys to their clients but eventually moved to the implementation of using a virtual reality machine to read the minds of clients so the Agency would know where to send them.

This latest gig from the government required them to select nine individuals from all walks of life. They were given ridiculous amounts of money to hire private investigators who would follow potential clients for months. And eventually the list was pared down. Client number nine actually would be the director of The Travel Agency. He would help make sure this big project didn’t get screwed up and he’d also get to test out this new software they gave to him.

He would also be informing the clients of their chance to be creators of their own fantasy, dream island. As long as the project was on task, he didn’t care about much else.