Fishing for Mermaids

Travel Light

The hotel manager Allister escorts me into my room, equipped with the Travel Light technology in which he's hoping I'll invest. As I close the door behind us, Allister reaches for a tablet from the neatly made bed at the center of the room. The room is adorned in calming whites and beiges, except for one wall in front of the bed, made up entirely of a bright white digital canvas that glows when Allister lifts the tablet.

"Ms. Spencer, this is the Travel Light tablet that goes along with the wall unit. From this app here," he says, as he clicks on an app with a suitcase on it, "you can control the lights of the room, enabling you to virtually travel to any destination you'd like. There are mood modes or you can customize your travel. For example," he starts again, clicking on the Relaxation Mode option on the main screen, "if one needs to relax, the lights will change and suddenly, you'll be in a Buddhist temple in Japan."

As he narrates what to expect, the room transforms. The lights above dim from a bright white to rich wood tones. The wall unit projects the view of a resting Buddha sculpture at the center of a temple. Not only does the wall change, but as the image solidifies on the wall unit, the surrounding floor of the hotel room changes to aged, dark wood. I turn my head, and behind me is the entrance, where people are removing their shoes. The distant sounds of bells and chatter play in the room.

"Incredible," I mutter.

"Once you have finished traveling in a location, you can adjust the tablet back to its Start Mode or you can adjust the lights to project a different location. Let's say you like Japan, but you'd like to be in Tokyo, simply click on the map icon in the bottom right corner and choose your destination."

Allister clicks on the icon and then the city of Tokyo, and within moments, the Travel Lights shift, nearly blinding me with the neon intensity of Tokyo's Hachiko Square. As suddenly as it appeared before me, it vanishes, and the room returns to its "Start Mode."

"I hope, Ms. Spencer, you understand why I insisted you come and experience it before deciding on whether or not to invest. I'll leave you to explore the technology on your own. For an advanced experience, keep the tablet with you, choose the Explore option, and approach the wall unit."

"What will that do?" I ask as Allister hands me the Travel Light tablet.

He smiles. "You'll see, Ms. Spencer. Do not hesitate to call the front desk should you require anything. Enjoy."

"Thank you," I reply, a bit perplexed, but intrigued by Allister's words.

Allister nods before leaving me alone with the Travel Light technology. Excitement fills me, as it seems like forever since I've traveled. The last time was to Disney World with Edgar and the kids, and before that was Edgar's and my last babymoon to Lake Tahoe six years ago. All the money in the world can't buy the time to enjoy it, so I think carefully about the destination to where I'd like to "travel light."

For inspiration, I decide to explore some of the Travel Light app's preset modes. I know that Relaxation Mode takes me to Japan, but where does Party Mode take me?

The lights darken with strobing pops of neon bursting onto the wall unit screen, and techno music blares. I'm in some Spanish dance club, because the DJ shouts, "Sigue, sigue, sigue, baila," over the beat. It's not my scene.

I choose Adventure Mode, and the music stops, only to be replaced by the loud hum of a plane engine. Wind from the central air in the room begins to push the hair from my shoulders, and before me is the image of an open plane door. I'm about to skydive. But nothing happens. I don't move or jump. I remember Allister's words: "For an advanced experience, keep the tablet with you, choose the Explore option, and approach the wall unit."

I select Explore and take a step forward. The door appears closer. I continue forward until it appears I am standing in the doorway of the plane, and I look down. Clouds pass beneath me, the wind intensifies, my palms sweat around the tablet, and my heart races. I can't do this, even if it is virtual, I think as I step back. I return to Start Mode.

One place stands out in my mind, a tiny spot on the globe that I think of when I try, unsuccessfully, to meditate. I select the map icon and zoom in until I can click on the specific spot I'd like to be.

Salty waves pulse to and from the beach, the lights shift to aquamarine and gold. Air from the duct carries a briny scent, and I close my eyes to breathe it in. When I open my eyes again, the whole room has transformed into the pristine, private beach inside Costa Rica's Manuel Antonio National Park.

Choose the Explore option and approach the wall unit.

I stretch out my hands as I step closer to the wall, certain I will run into it, but when I get closer, the only sensation I feel is the water on my feet, warmed by the equator. I step into the screen, uncertain of how this is even possible, and find myself standing, ankle deep in the ocean. I'm not sure why, but I begin the cry. My tears turn to laughter as I push the hair from my face and watch the waves. Pent up stress releases with each breath. I needed this.

Once my toes become wrinkly, I select the Start Mode and find myself back in the hotel room, the bottoms of my pant legs damp from the ocean.

I call the front desk. "Hello, Allister? Yes, I'm investing."