BXBX NOVEL Chapter 700 - Flying Abroad
Adrian already packed light and decided to greet his three friends that will come with them. The hotel that was booked by the company happily upgraded their rooms when Adrian\'s grandfather gave them a healthy donation of very expensive wine.
The plane that they will be using is not the private plane because Adrian\'s father vehemently refused to do so as Atlas Inc. already provided them with the necessary plane tickets. Also, Richard does not want to listen to his father boasting all day about this and that.
A limousine is actually sent to Adrian\'s house to fetch them so that they will all arrive at the airport together. Adrian has yet to tell his friends why they are luxuriously being attended to, but he remained silent despite the constant questions.
Adrian\'s friends know that their friend\'s family might be well off, but they rarely do extravagant things as they are not people to flaunt their wealth. In fact, they were so surprised that Adrian did not have the aura of a snotty rich boy and starting to believe that the stories that Adrian told them about hellish training were true.
As the family and friends are headed to the airport, they are then followed by a mysterious group of people that seemed to be observing the family in great detail. The followers only stopped when they arrived at the airport as numerous people are there.
"So…which plane will we board?" Marlon asked as he is excited about his trip overseas. The fact that his mother agreed is already a blessing as he spent a whole week begging her to let him go.
"I am just worried that I might get lost in such a large city." Jade stated as this is her first time flying on an airplane.
As the group are heading their way to the airplane that they will board, Adrian could feel the stares of people going his way. Some held stares of curiosity while some gave stares of pity as they say his legs being aided by the technology built to aid those who are lame.
Some people even started to whisper words of pity and some even told their children that if they do not behave then they will end up like him. Adrian might not hear what they are really saying but their actions speak louder than words due to their gestures and expressions.
The world might have progressed to a large degree, but some people still think backwards. In the end, only people with an open mind and a large heart could ever understand how others feel. Those who think they are better than their fellow men just because they are more abled will never be content with their life as they live a life of being miserable.
Due to his time as a child of his parents, he already learned at an early to block the things that should not bother him as they will not help him become a better person. A bitter reality of children that needed to mature faster than their peers. They cope better in life, but they also sacrifice their innocence as a child due to the judgmental society that people live in.
Of course, not all people are like these as people who are kind tend to be friends with people of the same attitude. Adrian is happy with the current state in his life right now as he has genuine friends and a loving family which is already a lot of what a person could ask for.
As the family and friends are about to go to the terminal of the airport to check their tickets, a man dressed in a fine suit suddenly walked up to them and greeted Adrian. They were wary at first but soon knew of the identity of the man.
"I have come to fetch you, Mr. Adrian. I am, Tim, from Atlas Inc. We will be boarding a different plane than the ones that are reserved for others. The tickets are just for formality since it is still an airport after all and is government owned." Tim stated as he gestured the family and friends to follow him.
In Adrian\'s country that allied itself deeply with other countries near it, the governments of each country decided that all means of travel by air will be owned by the government. In exchange for this reason, the payment for the flights became lesser and those who could not previously afford air fares gained the ability to do so.
It is not entirely owned by the government as the people could still own part of these airports. What ensued is that people started to travel more to other countries especially to countries tied to their own union. Countries that excelled in tourism became more bountiful as they received more money flowing into their economy.
Of course, this sort of action was also meant with heavy backlash as some voiced out that it is not right. In the end, it was the people that voted that won as they wanted it that way when they got a taste of what inexpensive travelling felt like. Like any country formed with the will of the people, the laws should also be created to increase the people of their country.
"Why does it seem like we are heading to the VIP area of the airport?" Richard asked as he is familiar with the so-called VIP area. It is an area where the people who often seat in first class go towards.
"The plane that we will be boarding is owned by Atlas Inc. It is also retrofitted to suit the needs of our distinguished guest as he is special to our event after all." Tim stated as they soon arrived at the lavish waiting area full of luxurious food.
"I do not care as long as I see that cake! Is that from the famous bakery in out town that needed to be booked a month in advance just to get a slice. Pinch me as I must be dreaming! Ouch!" Marlon staed as Jade proceeded to pinch his arm.
"You are not dreaming so get a grip and stop drooling." Jade stated but she already started to move towards the food contrary to what she is saying.
"Please feel free to help yourself as we will depart in an hour." Tim stated as he gestured the others to partake as well.
"You mean we only have an hour to eat all these foods!" Marlon stated as his mouth is already smothered with chocolate residue.
"Do not worry as there are still plenty more in the flight. But help yourself with the refreshments as I inform the pilot of our departure." Tim stated as he excused himself.
"Is this not too lavish?" Mina asked as they were treated basically like royalty.
"It is not lavish as it is called being strategic. If word goes out that Atlas Inc., one of the wealthiest companies in the world, skimped on the entertainments given to their guests then they will be mocked which would mean that the company will lose face.
"I know that but still. There are certain types of food here that are very difficult to come by. I mean this wine is aged for twenty years and the seal is very authentic. It is scary that they can acquire this with ease and offer them to people with great number.
If I knew this would happen then I should have bought stocks from their company when it was still very cheap. Who would have thought that their game would actually be so popular that it is dominating the world?" Mina stated as she calmly tasted the fine wine given to them.
In all honesty, even the other wealthy people in the world did not expect such a thing to happen as previous virtual reality games that were created failed in just under a year. The cost to maintain such fast-processing speeds were a chore and a disaster just waiting to happen.
This is the reason why Atlas Inc. did not receive much from the investors when it first told them that their company will actually create a game. It was just a medium size company back then that only had about a thousand employees. With the creation of one game, the company became such a powerhouse that dominated every form of entertainment in the world.
When these investors wanted to invest money into the game, the owner of Atlas Inc. dismissed them saying that the company will no longer allow investors in. Some \'scandals\' about Atlas Inc. surfaced at this time as some sort of tool for revenge against them but they were all debunked as false by investigations.
Instead, the people uncovered that these scandals were created by scorned businessmen. In return, it was their businesses that actually took a hit as people who play Pandemonium stopped caring about their products.. Even normal people felt put off by the perpetrators methods and decided to stop supporting them as well which led them to bankruptcy.