Madison squeezed Anthony's hand in a nervous mixture of excitement and trepidation. Her husband of many years, it seemed like forever, reassuringly squeezed back and patted her hand. Such a small thing to be so comforting, but it made all the difference.
As the line slowly inched forward, she couldn't help but marvel at the fact that this was actually happening. Sure she'd heard the stories, everyone had, and fantasized with her friends about what they'd do if they ever won a slot. In her teens, some of the fantasies she and her girl friends spun out to each other during pajama parties as to what they would do were positively outrageous and embarrassing, each striving to shock and impress with their naive concept of sophistication. At the same time, everyone took secret comfort in knowing that their variant of 'I Dare You' would likely always be a just a safe word game, although on more than one occasion it had lead to some deliciously inappropriate and impromptu intimate encounters. Smiling lazily to herself, Madison was temporarily lost in revelry of long ago events that somehow had morphed over the years from excited guilty shame to become some of her fondest and most cherished memories.
"Earth to Maddy, Earth to Maddy. We're next," Anthony said.
Madison came back to herself with a start. Apparently she'd shuffled her way all the way to the front of the line while lost in a daydream. Responding to her husband's tugging, she stepped into the right hand scanner booth while her husband took the left one. It wasn't much of a booth, open front and back with transparent sides, but she dutifully stopped in the center and stood on the foot marks on the floor and listened to the attendant, guard, agent, or whatever he was as he droned through instructions that he'd obviously done so often, he probably did it in his sleep.
"Stand Still... Turn Left ... Turn Right... Stand Still... Take you card... Step Out."
From here they were ushered into what appeared to be a very nice but otherwise perfectly normal waiting area for their flight. While the waiting area was normal, this flight most certainly was not, and the difference was apparent if you paid attention. There were no bags piled about. The ladies had purses, but that was about it. There were no briefcases, no laptops, no overstuffed carry on bags. The last was especially significant because no one had checked bags either. They'd been told not to bring luggage of any kind. It was also quiet. No kids running about, no large groups having loud discussions. It was mostly just couples and a scattering of singles whispering to each other and staring at the same featureless white plastic card.
Taking a pair of seats conveniently far away from everyone else. Madison and Anthony found themselves doing the same thing. Holding out their cards as if there was something to see, and whispering to each other.
"So this is me?"
"Yep!. The card is supposed to be a complete body scan of our very being."
"But they look identical. What if we mixed them up, how would we tell who's is who's?"
"Well for one thing, as soon as you put the card in the station, a detailed image pops up. I don't think there's much chance of us not being able to tell who is who."
"I don't know, they do say married couples begin to look like each other."
"WE CAN NOW BEGIN BOARDING"
Every seat was better than first class. Like the waiting room, the seats were in widely spaced pairs. Even the individual seats of the pairs could pivot and slide on short tracks to create complete privacy or couple intimately together. Each seat came with it's own station on an arm attached to the seat, allowing it to be swung in, out, or pivoted just about any way you chose.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN", the announcement demanded. "Our flying time will be approximately thirteen hours. During that time please utilize your stations. Entertainment of nearly any kind can be called up. You may order whatever food and drink you like through the station. Last and most importantly, it is also the editor for your cards. Simply insert one or more cards into the slot to activate the station. Place your hand on the control pad and you're good go. The control pad responds to thought and intent. You may play around and make as many edits as you like. When we are an hour out from landing, there will be an announcement. At that time you should finalize your edits. After landing, we will collect all of your cards and you will proceed to final processing where you will be reverse scanned, making you a match to your card. Your card is matched to you at a life-magic level. It is impossible for anyone else's card to work on you. Not even identical twins could use each other's card. As a reminder, there are basic safety and practicality limitations built in that will prevent too extreme of an edit. Nevertheless the parameters are quite wide and you should consider your individual destinations and time limits when you make changes. Things that seem like fun for a short vacation might not be desirable for extended activities. In any case the choice is yours."
During takeoff, Madison and Anthony quietly speculated as to who all these people were and where might various individuals be going, what might he or she do? They knew that they were headed for an all expense paid two week holiday. Maybe they would meet some of the others later? Then again, how would they know? In thirteen hours, everyone would likely be unrecognizable. They didn't even know what they would look like.
