The Island of Dreams

by Gregory James Clark

  The hostess, like the lady at the inn, wore the obligatory gold on blue Saturnian badge on her cream-coloured jacket. She shook Gary’s hand then led him inside the plane, its luxurious interior with wide leather seats serving to impress.

  “This first class only service,” explained the hostess. “So plenty of legroom. Normally only carries up to thirty-six passengers on. Also can go supersonic, but not today. Here, enjoy extra wide seat. Then I get you Bucks Fizz to celebrate your joining of our nation. You will be pleased to know you are only passenger today.”

  “I take it I don’t need a passport,” Gary remarked, as the hostess returned with the drink.

  “Passport not needed. New one will be issued when training completed”.

  “What if I don’t pass the training?”

  “Everyone always pass training. No one ever fail on Island.”

  The cabin doors closed and the engines started. Then the plane began to taxi. Gary instinctively fastened his safety belt as the plane accelerated quickly but quietly into take-off.

  The hostess sat with Gary for the duration of the flight. When the ascent was complete she removed a remote control from her inside jacket pocket and activated a screen at the front of the cabin.

  “Now I show you something of our Island,” she said, pressing a button to commence the half-hour film which described The Island from its beginnings in 2026.

  The film began with an aerial view of The Island with its distinctive Dome and Bell Tower overlooking an extensive sandy coastline with an oval shaped swimming pool and Stone Boat clearly visible in the bay. Other buildings were dotted about, though with less distinguishing features. Then the voiceover commenced:

  ‘Welcome to The Island of Dreams, which for the next year will be your new home from home. We are pleased that you have decided to accept our offer of a place here and the opportunity to train to become a citizen of The Island and its territories.

  Every year for the last eleven years, 240 young people have been specially selected from around the world to join with us to train to be skating celebrities for one of four companies that comprise The Kamchatskiy Corporation, the world’s greatest transportation company.’

  The images then changed to show the rugged volcanic hills of Kamchatka, followed by other scenes from around the globe to match the soundtrack. The voice continued:

  ‘The Island, as it is still affectionately known, is the world’s newest constitutional monarchy and is in itself a nation state within nations. Kamchatka is by far its largest acquisition, along with the adjoining territories of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Progressive agreements with Russia enabled the entire territory to be owned by The Island in 2077, yet without compromising any of Russia’s sovereignty. Since then The Island has continued to provide its unique alternative to capitalism in islands throughout the world, from The Falklands and South Georgia in the South Atlantic; to the offshore Brazilian islands of Trinidade, Noronha and Rocas; to Kerguelen and the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean; to Cheju-do, Tsushima and Izuhara in the Far East; and finally the Aleutian Islands which have now been fully purchased from the Government of the United States forming a continuous territory that now stretches from Kamchatka to the Alaskan Peninsula. But it is on one small island where our history really began.’

  The images changed from modern snapshots of territories to a shot which showed an ageing unusual luxury yacht which was reminiscent of a small high-class eighteenth-century sailing ship moored in a harbour. The name of the ship, the Katie was clearly visible on the side, and next to it a thirty-something man stood, dressed in an old admiral’s uniform that pretty much matched the style of the vessel. The narration continued:

  ‘In 2026, whilst en route from Rio to Cardiff, an eccentric thirty-five-year-old shipowner by the name of Ken David, sailed accidentally past what is now our beautiful Island after being blown off course in a storm. He was a master of the sea and a genius at building and adapting unusual vessels for specialised tasks, but even with all of his skill occasionally the weather combined with a technical problem, such as a damaged rudder, can throw the unwary off course, particularly in the notorious waters of the equatorial Atlantic. But he fell in love with the island as soon as he saw it and figured that his fiancee would too. Two years later he and his fiancée Kathleen visited it again in the odd-looking vessel which you see here. He named this, his personal ship, which he himself built, the Katie after her.’

  The scene changed again, this time to another, even older film this time showing a lady in her early thirties gazing eagerly at the stars through a large telescope. Presently the reflector’s image focused on the planet Saturn.

  ‘His fiancée on the other hand was an opera singer whose main hobby was astronomy. Both were exceedingly rich and in 2030 they purchased the sixteen-square-kilometre uninhabited island from the Portuguese government.’

  The narration ceased for a while as the gold on blue Saturnian logo was pieced together on the screen. Then it resumed:

  ‘Ken was at heart a revolutionary and he and Kathleen already had plans for what was to be their new island enterprise. Their dream was, with the help of friends, to lay the foundation for a new world order that would continue long after their lifetimes. For this they decided that they wanted a logo so she suggested the splendour of Saturn’s rings at which she always marvelled.’

  Three still colour scenes followed showing the thousands of blue flowers that grew wild over large stretches of the island.

  ‘The flowers led Katie to suggest the gold of Saturn superimposed on the blue of the flowers.’

  Three more scenes of ‘The Island’ as it had looked in 2030 followed, and the narrative continued:

  ‘This is The Island as it had looked when Ken and Kathleen had purchased it in 2030. It was once a Portuguese garrison where sailing ships would call to take on fresh water on their way to South America. In Victorian times, however, it fell into disuse and no one really had much use for this picturesque, but redundant, island of peace and tranquillity. These were Kathleen’s personal photographs.’

  The images of photographs of dilapidated buildings overgrown with trees, weeds and wild flowers slowly gave way to colour shots of the semi-completed Island as it appeared in 2037. This commenced with an aerial shot, followed by further still photographs.

  ‘We now move forward to the year 2037 when The Island as we know it today began truly to take shape. There are at this point one or two buildings still requiring finishing touches, but it is virtually complete after almost seven years under construction. The photographs which you now see show the Colonnade and Gloriette. We then see the Buddha and Japanese garden, reflecting the strong Japanese influence, and the Stone Boat, built by Kai-San, one of two Japanese engineers who were engaged in the construction. The Stone Boat was, in fact, a joke aimed at Ken David and his reputation for restoring ships in his Cardiff boatyard, with Kai-San famously saying to him “David san, please, show us if you can put to sea in that!”’

  The singer reappeared, taking applause from her adoring fans in Cardiff’s St. David’s Hall. Then the commentary resumed:

  ‘It was planned that Kathleen would be crowned Queen of The Island, but she was never crowned as she died prematurely in a car crash whilst on holiday in Colorado with her trusted friend, the somewhat younger Justine, who survived and was honour bound to take Kathleen’s place as Ken’s fiancée.’

  Justine was then seen being crowned at a small ceremony in an underground cavern with Ken at her side.

  ‘It was therefore Justine rather than Kathleen who became the first Queen of The Island. The royal wedding took place shortly before the coronation in The Island Church. As you can see it was a very small and private affair, as was the next. It is only now, after seventy years that things are set to change.’

  Scenes from this were briefly shown before the focus changed to that of a stout man in his fifties who had been visible at the both the wedding and coronation, but was now seen stridin
g past the Houses of Parliament in London.

  ‘Ken was greatly assisted by Leo Harvey, his banker, who was head of the multinational Harvey Banking Corporation. One could be forgiven for thinking that you can’t get more capitalist than that, but it was precisely because he reached such a position and had been able to view capitalism from every angle possible, that he became convinced that it was a system that desperately needed a completely new and viable alternative. To him the world deserved a choice, but that choice had to be something other than communism.’

  The faces of two other gentlemen then appeared, namely those of the twentieth-century philosophers William Edwards Deming and Joseph Moses Juran.

  ‘Both Leo and Ken were inspired by the two twentieth-century philosophers W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran, who had led the quiet revolution in quality that had made Japan prosperous after World War Two. Together Leo and Ken used their theories to shape the blueprint for the world that was later to become known as Non-Capitalist Economics. The teaching of Deming and Juran was very much integrated into The Island’s economic and political planning.’

  A picture of the book Non-Capitalist Economics by Leo Harvey then gave way to a more light-hearted sketch showing games played on ice in elaborate costumes.

  “Every year we have our annual fun and games contest ‘Games Without Frontiers’ where teams from different Island territories come together once a year to do battle in our magnificent Non-Olympic Stadium.’

  The scene changed quickly again to show a human chessboard on ice.

  ‘Then we have our long-standing human chess matches played on ice on giant curls in the world’s most exclusive ice rink. Two of the world’s experts sit at each end of the rink and play against each other in an exciting competition showing that competition can be fun if it is applied in the right way.’

  As pieces were taken they were pushed by pushers into a specially created ditch that surrounded the ice surface, whilst the knights were lifted in and out of position by means of an overhead lifting device.

  Next, it was Carnival on Ice.

  ‘Each year we have our carnival with a celebration of dances performed on ice.’

  “Pretty costumes,” Gary remarked.

  “Island people always love to dress in costume,” said the air hostess.

  Skaters were shown performing elaborate routines around cars, airborne craft, small yachts and moving cranes, trains and lifting equipment, specially built to size so as to serve as props.

  ‘The climax of the show is our demonstrations by our chosen recruits for the senior executives of the four Kamchatskiy companies Kamchatskiy Auto, Kamchatskiy Aerospace, Kamchatskiy Maritime and Kamchatskiy Logistics.’

  “This what you will be doing,” remarked the hostess.

  “As good as that? I don’t think so,” remarked Gary.

  “You will be,” the hostess said, encouragingly. “Island skating teacher world’s best.”

  From the elegance of ice dancing the documentary switched to the sound of a steam locomotive chuffing up a gentle incline with its train of four luxury carriages into the grounds of a palace that strangely resembled that of Versailles.

  ‘Built in the centre of The Island and completed to the Versailles specification The Royal Palace is accessible by steam railway and lies in the centre of The Island approximately four kilometres from The Town. It is now home to our present queen, Queen Katie of Kamchatka, and on the tranquil lake behind one travels in style on the steam yacht Gondola, which is a replica of the one that Her Majesty Queen Justine had fallen in love with on a holiday to Lake Coniston in England in 2050.

  Beyond the lake is the cable car that leads up the mountain to the north side of The Island and the Non-Olympic Stadium, which used to serve as the centrepiece for our four-yearly sporting extravaganza for amateur sports. Now the events are held elsewhere. As you can appreciate, under Non-Capitalist Economics all sport is amateur sport. Engineers, led by Kai-San and Endo-San, carefully constructed the Colosseum-like stadium by carving away part of the volcanic mountain on the north side of The Island furthest from The Town at a distance of some eight kilometres.’

  Next, it was back to The Town where small- and medium-sized blue bullet-shaped taxis, each bearing The Island logo, sped around giving periodic blasts of their horns to warn pedestrians of their passing.

  ‘Getting around The Town in the daylight hours is never a problem. The traditional Kammies can always be flagged down for a free ride.’

  The film concluded with a short scene which began with a shot of the roof of The Great Dome that was situated in the centre of The Town. A strange screeching sound was heard as a section of the roof slowly began to open and the gold metallic head of a giant mechanical bird emerged, taking Gary by surprise. It climbed onto a purpose-built perch from which it launched itself into the air over The Town before flying out to sea for a few minutes, its twenty-foot wingspan dominating the skyline.

  ‘For the last eleven years The Eagle has become a familiar sight, as it provides a unique way of both maintaining security around our beautiful Island and of rescuing those in distress either at sea or in the mountains. A fabulous sight you have to agree and just one of several wonderful pieces of engineering that you will find in this remarkable wonder of the world that is The Island of Dreams.’

  “Now Su-Lin bring you snack,” said the air hostess, revealing her name.

  “You are Su-Lin?” Gary asked.

  “Yes,” she answered, shaking his hand. “Su-Lin from Korean island of Chejo-do, now part of Island’s many territories”.

  When she returned with a tray of assorted vol-au-vents and two more glasses of Buck’s Fizz Gary asked her how Chejo-do had come to be part of The Island’s territory.

  “The Island purchase land over many years,” she explained. “People who supported Non-Capitalist Economics, and were Korean nationals and who had money to invest in property, were asked to put their investment into a special fund until they had enough to purchase Chejo-do completely and were in a majority in local government. Then in 2073, Non-Capitalist Economics was introduced by consensus, and rights to visit other Island territories were granted by the Island monarchy and council in 2074. Everyone on Chejo-do celebrated as they knew the change would be very good for them. In 2075 Tsushima did same, but they are Japanese. That is the route I fly most. Chejo-do to Tsushima. I have lots of friends there, because we all think alike of course”.

  “So how did you finish up in Benson?”

  “This is a roving plane, not scheduled, so it just flies where needed to no specific timeframe. Now, out of window you can see Island.”

  Gary looked out of the starboard window and could just make out a cluster of islands that lay to the south and east of The Island.

  “See Island,” said Su-Lin, pointing to a single island that was somewhat detached from the main group.

  The plane turned sharply to approach it. As it descended he was able to spot some of the major features which he had seen in the film. The Bell Tower dominated the skyline and he could just make out The Great Dome, the mountains on the north side of The Island and the lake in the centre, but these features quickly disappeared as the plane touched down on the tiny coastal runway on the south west side of The Island, which could only just accommodate the Hebden Three.

  As Gary stepped out he bade farewell to the young Su-Lin and gazed at the seemingly deserted runway, which was surrounded by sand dunes and was strangely silent. There was no terminal building nor any immediate sign of life. The steps which led from the aircraft had obviously been placed alongside upon landing, though the attendants who had brought it were nowhere to be seen.

  Gary descended the steps and waited. The weather was fine with the noonday sun beaming down from overhead. He waited for several minutes and looked all around. Then a voice called to him.

  “Gary,” called a man’s voice.

  He looked behind him, but saw nothing.

  “Gary,” came the voice
again.

  He looked around again, scrutinising the dunes, then the sea to the other side. It was not until he turned to face the plane that he was to get a surprise, for emerging from behind it suddenly appeared an open topped black Landau carriage hauled by two jet black stallions and steered by a gentleman dressed in top hat and tails.

  The coachman stopped beside him and dismounted from the carriage. He opened the door for Gary and he stepped inside, pondering for a moment the remarkable scene of the supersonic jet in which he had just flown and the Victorian carriage in which he now sat. He had just transferred from the world’s most modern mode of transport to its oldest, but both forms had one outstanding feature, and that was that they were both unmistakeably best in class.

  Chapter Four

  Lunch with Connie

  The carriage sped south east from the airfield along a single track road from which the dunes quickly gave way to more arable pasture where crops, fruit trees, vines and marketable flowers grew irrigated by carefully routed streams which flowed down from the hillside beyond. The road meandered through fields in which a handful of farmhouses and outbuildings were dispersed, but the coastline was never more than a few hundred metres away.

  It took about ten minutes for the coach to enter the grounds of The Town from the north side through the small wood that marked the boundary, followed by The Japanese Garden and on through The Triumphal Arch. Then the coach descended the hill until it came to a large building by the shore. The carriage drew to a halt outside with the oval swimming pool to the left behind him and the Stone Boat to the left in front across the lawn that separated the building from a narrow promenade.

  The coachman opened the door of the carriage and Gary stepped down.

  “Lunch is served in the restaurant, sir,” he said. “Table number five.”

  Gary entered the building, pausing for a moment to scrutinise the Deming Memorial that was set into the rock face to the right of the entrance. He read the inscription on the plate below the bronze statue upon which were engraved the words ‘W. Edwards Deming 1900–1993’ followed by the list of the Fourteen Points by which he was perhaps best remembered. Then Gary entered, drawn toward the dining room by the sound of chattering. The Usherette greeted him at the door and showed him to table number five, at which a twenty-three-year-old casually dressed auburn-haired lady sat expectantly.