Tatyana Shuklina - Antakarana. Quest in Reality

I spend most of the flight sleeping. I retreat twice to the rear of the plane. The strange girl sits in her place, curled up and fast asleep. I am extremely surprised when I understand what kind of object she is holding tightly to her chest – a small chessboard. The thought of the mysterious passenger haunts me.

Once Alex wakes up and I ask if he has noticed the strange girl behind us. He cheerfully replies with a shrug:

All the boys and girls on this plane are strange. As for the absent-minded scientist behind you, he is just from another planet.

I decide not to develop the topic with Alex and figure it out on my own. Maybe it’s just the daughter of one of the crew. Perhaps she doesn’t understand English or is playing the role of a character in one of the quest tasks. I open my notebook and make a note: «get to know the mysterious girl better.»

We get a second lunch two hours before boarding. Despite my lack of appetite, this time I still eat the whole tray. The food seems bland, cold and totally tasteless. Alex makes a sarcastic comment «they know how to cook bad.»

After the flight attendants have removed the leftover food, the monitor turns on, and a woman like my good old friend The Glossy Lady greets us dryly. She asks to listen to the rules again, which, as it seems to me, everyone has already learned by heart:

1. The location of the game, tasks and situations, methods of organization and equipment are the intellectual property of the Corporation and must be kept in strict confidence.

2. When communicating, the participants should use the following terminology: Location – the place where the quest takes part, Players – participants in the quest, Platform – the gathering place for Players to discuss current tasks, Bungalow – the place of residence of the Players, Cell – the Player’s room. This rule is advisory in nature.

3. The players’ communication language is exclusively English.

4. Play names should be used throughout the game. This rule is advisory in nature.

5. At the Location, the Organizers will provide the Players with everything necessary for the Game. Each Player has the right to take with him one piece of home, such as an amulet, photograph, personal item, accessory, stationery or small piece of clothing. All electronic devices, especially communication facilities, are strictly prohibited for use in the Location.

6. The player is obliged to wear wardrobe items and use only things provided by the Organizers in everyday life.

7. Daily schedule: wake up strictly at 9:00, going to bed strictly at 21:00. By this time, each Player must be in his cell alone, have already had dinner, taken a shower, put on the provided set of clothes and gone to his bed. Healthy and prolonged sleep is an absolute must in the Game. Each Player determines the meal time for himself.

8. Every morning for seven days, the Players will be asked situations with detailed instructions. When completing tasks, players are guided by their own decisions. The organizers do not interfere in the decision-making process and the development of strategies for completing tasks under no circumstances.

9. Only one Player can win the Game, however, joint problem solving is encouraged until the final.

10. Under no circumstances the Players have the right to leave the Location and independently remove the Game Coordinators from their forearms before the Game’s end.

11. The Players will be punished for violation of the rules of the Game, and eliminated from the Game for significant violations.

12. The organizers are not responsible for the actions of the Players in a particular situation, as well as have no right to interfere with the course of the Game.

13. The game is considered over when one of the Players completes the final task.

The woman on the screen monotonously repeats the rules in a circle over and over again, which obviously irritates the passengers. Therefore, everyone sighs with frank relief when the first pilot announces the landing of the plane. The curator on the monitor gives further instructions:

«The cars waiting at the airport are supposed to take the players to the location. Please follow our drivers.»

The screen goes blank. I look out the window and gasp for breath. A ridge of islands spreads directly below us. They create bizarre geometric shapes framed by snow-white sand strips, then pale blue areas of lagoon water and, finally, deep blue water abysses. This is roughly how I imagined paradise. Stunning views relieve the tension of the last day. Against all odds, I once again feel the excitement in the solar plexus area ahead of the upcoming adventure.

«What do you think these islands are?» I ask Alex dreamily.

«Let me think about it, given the plane’s trajectory, altitude and speed, wing angle and the appearance of the islands, it becomes obvious that I have no idea. The Indian Ocean has a great many archipelagos: Chagos, Seychelles, Eparhe, Maldives, Yemen and so on. Choose what your heart desires.»

«I only know that this is a heavenly place, and we will have a great time here. Such islands are created for absolute happiness, harmony with nature and their own inner world.»

«Provided that we won’t be eaten by the local aborigines.»

The plane lands at a small airport drown in greenery. Lush vegetation pleases the eye. Wild trees and flowers have surrounded the runway and seem to stretch their green paws towards the plane. An uncomplicated building, equipped with radars, looks rather like a small hangar, which, perhaps, it is. Mesmerized, I watch the lush vegetation amid a faint hint of civilization until the plane finally stops.

Three snow-white jeeps with the Antakarana symbol on the right wing are waiting at the gangway.

As soon as we leave the plane, my first thought is – how will I breathe here? The air is heavy, warm, and seems very humid. But a couple of minutes pass, and the lungs adapt to it, so the unusual humidity and heat do not bother me anymore. I look around with delight and wonder how different the green color can be: from light, almost yellow, cutting eyes of light green to dark emerald, almost black.

The local drivers in white suits are waiting near the cars. Planck, the blonde girl, the southern woman and the athlete get into the first jeep, and it drives off immediately. The driver of the second car gestures to the next four passengers who left the plane: me, Alex, the absent-minded scientist and the guy with an angelic face. We sit down in a comfortable spacious salon and the car starts to move. I turn around and see the last three participants: the Chinese woman, the thin woman with the big glasses and the little stranger girl. Obviously, the third jeep is prepared for them.

The driver turns to us, smiles and mutters something in the local language, sounds like a greeting.

«How long will the trip take?» Alex asks in English.

The driver explains with gestures that he does not understand him. As for me, I plan to take advantage of the travel time: to get to know the participants better and adore the great views. However, either from a long journey, or from the experienced shocks, my eyes suddenly begin to stick together. I struggle for another couple of minutes, then finally fall into a deep sleep without any dreams.

When I open my eyes, the darkness has descended – so thick that nothing is visible outside the car. My whole body is numb, I can feel pain in the muscles of the neck and a metallic taste on the tongue. The head buzzes unpleasantly. I yawn wide and hear the driver muttering something in his own language.