‘Attention passengers. This is the first boarding call for flight 186 to London Heathrow. We are now inviting all passengers who have been fully vaccinated against the Epsilon-2 strain of Covid-19 to begin boarding at this time. Please be sure to have your passport open on the photo page as well as both your QR codes ready for scanning, as this will make the boarding process faster and safer for all.’
Apart from all the facial recognition-equipped security cameras, the digital hygiene checkpoints, and a few more safety measures here and there, things didn’t feel that different from what Lawrence remembered.
‘For the rest of the passengers on today’s flight who have not been fully vaccinated against Epsilon-2, please be patient as our priority travelers make their way onto the plane, and be sure to have your passport open on the photo page, your three QR codes ready for scanning, as well as your UV travel permit once you are called. Please also remember to keep a safe distance at all times. Thank you for your co-operation.’
Lawrence placed his hand on his inner jacket pocket to make sure his UV permit was still there. It was his very first trip since the dawn of the New Normal, which was now approaching its fourth anniversary. The last time he had set foot in an airport was February 2020, exactly a month before the launch of Season 1 in the UK. Of course, being fully unvaccinated against Epsilon-2 meant he would have to wait a bit longer to get on the plane — not ideal, but it wasn’t the end of the world either. And it certainly wasn’t as bad as the way Danny made it sound, with his worries about the rise of a “biosecurity dystopia” and all his other eccentric ideas about the world.
‘Oh, Danny’ he smiled.
As he sat waiting for his turn to board the plane, Lawrence found himself thinking about the things his brother had been telling him over the weekend.
Perhaps it was the fact they hadn’t seen each other in over two months (since Edinburgh’s snap lockdown back in July, to be precise), or perhaps it was the copious amounts of Pinot noir they had been consuming — either way, Danny couldn’t stop talking. Vaccines, digital currencies, graphene oxide — a perpetual stream of ideas about what, according to him, the New Normal was really about. Lawrence did try to change the subject a few times, but to no avail — it would inevitably revert back to one of his outlandish conspiracies. He initially didn’t mind this too much, but by Sunday afternoon his head was full.
‘Have you considered the possibility that you might be exposing yourself to too much information?’ he asked his brother.
‘There’s no such thing as too much information, Lawrie’ Danny replied as he poured himself another drink. ‘Did you know that the human brain can store almost three million gigabytes of data?’
‘Three million?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Okay, that’s interesting. But I’m not really concerned about storage space.’
‘Concerned? You’re concerned now?’
‘You know I don’t mean it like that. It’s just that, you know, there’s a lot of misinformation going ‘round lately’ he timidly replied.
‘There’s that word again. Misinformation’ he chugged his glass and filled it once more. ‘Let me tell you something about Misinformation, brother. There is no greater purveyor of Misinformation than our very own Government.’
‘Nonsense’ Lawrence immediately retorted.
‘Nonsense? Pass my laptop. I’ll prove it to you in three minutes’.
Lawrence did think about it for a moment, but ultimately declined the offer.
‘I’m not doing this with you, Danny’ he told his brother. ‘I know you have all these ideas about what’s happening, but if there was really something sinister going on, more people would be talking about it. The News…’
‘The News?’ Danny interrupted him. ‘The News is owned by three corporations, who are in turn owned by two even bigger ones.’
Lawrence seemed befuddled, as if he couldn’t quite compute that last bit of information.
‘You know what? Forget it’ Danny said after a moment of silence, which was followed by another.
‘I’m sorry, I know how this all sounds. It’s just…you’re probably the only person I can talk about it with.’
‘What do you mean, Dan? What about Sarah?’
‘We broke up during the last lockdown’ Danny said as he drunkenly stood up and walked towards the window. ‘She thought I was going crazy.’
Suddenly, it all made much more sense. Danny was just having a tough time adjusting to the New Normal. It was perfectly understandable — the last three years had been a challenge for everyone, Lawrence included. Snap lockdowns, travel restrictions, frequent Zoom meetings — it was no surprise that some people were starting to lose it. Sarah probably just couldn’t take it anymore, so she decided to leave.
‘Shit, Dan. I had no idea. I…’
‘It’s alright, brother. I’m fine’ Danny said as he turned around.
‘’You sure you don’t want to talk about it?’ Lawrence asked.
‘Yeah’ Danny insisted. ‘Listen, brother, it’s getting late. And you have a flight to catch tomorrow. Why don’t we talk more when you’re back from London?’
Lawrence’s flight was early in the morning, and he had suddenly started to feel the effects of the wine. Come to think of it, he should have probably left a couple of hours earlier, especially considering his susceptibility to hangovers.
‘You know, that is probably a wise idea’ he admitted. ‘I’ll call a taxi and get my stuff ready, why don’t you roll us a couple of cigarettes in the meantime?’ he asked Danny, who happily obliged.
‘Sure thing, brother’ he replied. ‘By the way, what did you say you were doing in London anyway?’ he asked him as he sat back down.
‘Oh, you know, just going for work’ Lawrence explained as he gathered his belongings. ‘It’s a short trip. Should only be a couple of days.’
‘You haven’t gotten the Epsilon-2 jab, have you Lawrence?’ Danny asked his brother as they smoked by the doorstep.
‘What do you mean, Dan? You know all about my allergy’ Lawrence replied. ‘It was Dr. Gordon who recommended me to wait. He even signed my UV Permit, remember?’
‘Right, right. I was just making sure.’
‘Making sure? What could you possibly be making sure of?’
At that very moment, the sound of a car engine could be heard coming from up the road. Within a few seconds, a black Edinburgh cab was waiting in the quiet street outside Danny’s New Town flat.
‘I won’t worry you with another one of my conspiracies’ Danny joked he helped his brother with his bags.
Lawrence shook his head. ‘Whatever, Dan. I’ll see you in a week, yeah?’
‘Have a safe trip, brother.’
Very intriguing start to the novel! The set up feels near-dystopian and yet incredibly familiar. I really enjoy this mix of fiction with future reality, so will definitely tune in for more. Also very smart way of presenting what can sometimes be hard-to-digest information. Look forward to more – keep it up! 🔥