Lost in Space. Joaquim Augusto Ferreira Barbosa de Melo
President of the Airline, who bought two dozen of those aircraft, accepted the challenge posed by the manufacturer - to accept the engineer as the main pilot of that aircraft for two years. With the proposal, all the parties involved won. The fleet pilot won because he earned two salaries (one from airline and one from manufacturer). The manufacturer won, because he had, through his best engineer, a real-time knowledge of the responsiveness of the new apparatus. Finally, airline won, because, with that pilot it could give training to the rest of the company, so that in the future, everyone would be able to fly the new planes.
The Commander, when faced with the aftermath of those unpleasant events, first admitted the possibility of terrorist hands, yet he did not know among all manufacturers anyone who was able to produce such devastating effects on security and at the same time could master the device without damaging the onboard systems. That inconsistency, for the first time, drew its logical capacity to the brink of chaos.
On land, the news of the loss of communications between the control tower and the airplane, exposed human frailty to cover extreme situations. When the plane stopped communicating it also ceased to be visible on air traffic control monitors. Being a last-generation apparatus prepared for the greatest challenges, it all represented a difficult puzzle to understand.
Shortly after the disappearance of the aircraft, the Presidents of the Airline and Manufacturer were informed. And it wasn’t until some time later that the media began to spread the news, which quickly spread across the globe. Leading figures in international politics made themselves available, to take part, with the means deemed necessary, in the search to begin in the area. The President of the United States of America (USA) himself stated in communiqué that he regretted the occurrence - his Administration in collaboration with the Portuguese Authorities, were developing every effort to find the aircraft. Given the proximity to the USA coast of the famous “Triangle B” where the apparatus went missing, the Air Force was requested to intervene. Thus, the coverage of the area where the device was supposed to have disappeared was made by extensive means of recognition: by satellite; by air; by sea, forming together an almost perfect traceability. With the passing of hours, days and weeks, the enigma increased complexity among public opinion, reflected in all the organs of social media. For some, the giant of the air had crashed into the waters of the ocean without leaving a trace. For others, the plane was hijacked by terrorists that at any time would claim the attack. For others, still, it had been abducted by occult forces that for many years had claimed lives in what was one of the greatest oceanic mysteries on the planet. The news has spread throughout the civilised world, not only because of the strange circumstances surrounding the disappearance of many human lives, but also because members of the Government of the country, including the Finance Minister, were on board, who was speaking at the United Nations headquarters. When days later the major international terrorist organisations began to bring in information that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of the aircraft, the whole world was suspended. With the use of sophisticated means of search, particularly submarines, to detect signs of the black boxes, the vast oceanic area was scouted, and, despite all, nothing was found. With the reach of the time limit in which the boxes emit signals, hopes began to be reduced, so, some time later, the searches were interrupted. The unusual once again marked presence in that area. The plane thus joined the strange disappearances of the past that the press made record and memory. The silence of the television commentators on the subject came to the main stations with an inexorable sentence of the outcome of the inexplicable! In the air were the anguish of relatives and friends of the missing passengers and the interrogations of billions of people who watched the images and news of the fateful disappearance!
Somewhere in space, the passengers on the plane didn’t notice anything. Everything was in the apparent normality, even on the backs of the seats the audio and video systems functioned by passenger selection. The internet and mobile phones were not available, but that was a safety and normal flight condition. However, one situation marked a small difference for the most attentive - at some point the hatches no longer had visibility to the exterior of the plane. The passengers who were close to it noticed this change, but, at first, they gave no importance, «another procedure decided by one of the crew», they thought. But the reality was quite different! For those in the cockpit knowledge was instantaneous (reflected in the impressions exchanged between the Commander and the Immediate).
- What is this, Commander?
-A blink of an eye of the airplane that thinks that already can be autonomous!
- Seriously?!
-I don’t like it at all!
For the rest of the crew, outside the cockpit, the situation was quite different. Minutes after the Commander locked the door connecting the cabin to the passenger space, the flight attendant Florbela made an attempted access that was denied to her by the security system. In the first few moments she did not give any greater meaning to the situation, as the security system had incorporated conditions of refusal in particular flight conditions. About ten minutes later, Florbela tried again, noting, however, that the system’s response repeated the message «unauthorized access». The initial reaction was to use the personal communications equipment to get in touch with the Commander, by the way, her personal friend. However, with surprise, she also verified that this was not working. At first, she thought “it’s a malfunction” so she went to the fixed communications station that was close to her, to get in touch with the cockpit, but what was not his surprise when she saw that it was inoperative. That circumstance aroused personal concern and discomfort, for the first time she had realized that this giant was not that efficient at all! Not satisfied, she went to a colleague, expressing her displeasure.
-Candida, can you borrow your intercom? Mine stopped working – Said Florbela, in an outburst.
-Of course! When you don’t need it, give it back, if you please! – replied Candida, moving away immediately to answer a passenger’s call.
The biggest surprise came when Florbela, trying to activate the colleague’s equipment, found that it was also inoperative. She thought the obvious «a malfunction in central» and, in displeasure, exclaimed to herself «this is not going well today! » A colleague, who was some distance away, signalled her to help her collect the meal trays, served earlier. In the next half hour Florbela and her colleagues had their hands full with work, between trays and tidying of never-ending objects: dishes; glasses; bottles and lots of waste. When that task was finally finished, Florbela was feeling a little tired, so she did not immediately resume the attempt to speak to the Commander (what she had to say was not so urgent). In the next few minutes, she sought to make small make-up touch-ups, followed by the task of providing passengers with tax-free articles: perfumes; miniatures and other souvenirs, suggested by the company’s marketing.
The day before, Florbela and her friends spent pleasant moments in the company of the Commander and his friends, in one of the most frequented nightclubs in the city. Those moments of relaxation allowed her to meet the most popular pilot of the moment in the Airline. The Commander, although he no longer has the handsomeness of a young man, as he was already in his forties, is a charming and elegant gentleman with whom all the stewardess feels pleasure in having for company.
When Florbela finally finished her duties and headed for the cockpit, the Commander was coming in the opposite direction, so she took the opportunity to talk to him.
-Is it possible to take two minutes of your attention?
Not only did the Commander not respond, he moved on without any gesture. The hard expression on his face intrigued Florbela, prompting her to wonder «what is happening for him to have this attitude? » If it is certain that in any airline the function of Commander recommends that you keep, in flight, distance in relationships with the rest of the crew personnel (by separation of laser moments from those of service), it is no less true that Florbela did not recognise in the Commander that face of sphinx - «something very serious must be happening», she thought. Minutes later, when she came across her sister, Anabela, she commented on the situation, having obtained a laconic response:
-Don’t worry about it. That’ll pass!
For Florbela, she always thought that her sister has a light attitude towards life, perhaps because she’s younger or because she finds