Duke learned five Japanese phrases on the flight. He used all of them on the pilot before the plane left Anchorage, Alaska.
The jet stopped there to refuel.
In 1981, even a private plane couldn't cross the Pacific in one hop. The crew had to set down at the edge of Alaska in the middle of the night.
Victoria Principal stood at the top of the steps, wearing a thick coat and a scarf. Waving at the workers. She was a well-known actress on the hit show Dallas.
"You could say hello to somebody," she told Duke over her shoulder. She noticed he wasn't even bothering to smile politely at the people.
"I said hello to the pilot." He shrugged. It was 3 am in Alaska. Who wants to talk to anyone at this hour.
"You said thank you for flying. That isn't hello."
Duke smiled lightly, keeping his hands in his pockets.
He wore a dark blazer with a casual shirt. He was planning on taking it off after entering the jet again.
Ever since his past Life, he had always gottem accoustomed to sleeping with no shirt.
It didnt matter who was around, or what was happening, he needed to get his shirt off to get some good sleep.
They had met a few weeks earlier at a charity dinner in Dallas in which they hit it off.
She was born in Japan to a military father, and her family left when she was small, and this kind of connection was also the reason why Duke invited her to this trip.
They touched down at Tokyo at 9 o'clock in the morning.
The Narita Intenational airport had been open only three years.
Through the window, Duke saw several policemen walking around in helmets, standing in rows behind steel barriers watching nothing in particular.
'At least they take the security seriously in this place.'
It wasn't what he pictured his Japan arrival to be.
A long line of men in dark suit stood in arrival with their hands folded.
When the doors opened, everyone of them bowed at the same moment.
Representatives from Matsushita, the national government, city of Tokyo, Osaka, an official from the trade ministry.
Each presented a business card with both hands. Duke knew the custom and just took them.
American business etiquete and Japanese business etiquete are very different and Duke had always gotten the creeps form their s,mall rituals.
Behind them, a wall of news photographers popped pictures of everything.
A man from Matsushita explained, in careful English, that the company's chairman sent his warmest regards.
He added that the whole company had followed Paramount's films.
And even their factory floor in Osaka once stopped for ten minutes to watch a trailer. Duke suspected the story was... embelished but it didnt matter, it sounded good.
JVC built the VHS format with Duke's company Ampex/Atari.
JVC belonged to Matsushita, and now VHS was winning in stores across America and Japan. Every executive in that hall had a reason to be grateful.
There was also the Walkman that Sony and Ampex developed and had taken over. Half the young people crossing the airport wore headphones to prove it.
A teenager in a school uniform pushed through the crowd, and held out a program from Star Wars, Duke signed it.
A line formed behind him almost at once, with people pulling out cameras.
"They like you," Victoria whispered.
"Yeah, well the like the movie."
He had not really come to Japan a lot in the past couple of years. Always huddled up in California, Texas, Florida or New York.
He was a workaholic whether it was in this or in his past life. His ranch in Iowa was still running yet it had been a few years since he last went there.
That hidding back in America also meant that for most international fans or goverments, he was a very rare oddity.
After a long time of dealing with fans, he moved through the airport to get to the cars when he saw a group of protesters holding signs up while being stopped by police from getting near.
Duke stopped curious, and squinted to check what the signs said.
PARAMOUNT = U.S. PROPAGANDA MACHINE
CNN TELLS WESTERN LIES
FAIR COMPENSATION FOR JVC WORKERS!
MEDIA BARON, GO HOME TODAY, ROB US ANOTHER DAY!
A goverment official stepped up and explained, dismissing matter with a hand. "University Leftist. Crazy people. People ignore them, mr. Hauser."
Duke nodded. He was more confused over why would the signs even be in English since they were in Japan. Shouldnt they be in Japanese?
The drive into the city took 90 minutes as they went past the barricades.
The delegation arranged one car for Duke and Victoria.
In the back seat, Victoria tried to roll down her window, but was unable to and waved at a school bus.
Half the bus waved back.
"Do they know who you are?" Duke asked.
"They know I'm friendly... I don't know why this window wont go down."
Duke pondered whether to explain to her that most likely, the window was bulletproof and those dont go down unless the car is modified.
They stayed at the Okura, a hotel that had hosted presidents and prime ministers
The government had a plan for the afternoon, a walk.
Nobody told Duke about the walk directly. He did howemer, remembered someone mentioning something like that while he was distracted in a meeting.
A deputy from the trade ministry explained, with courtesy, that the Prime Minister's office believed it would be a lovely gesture if Mr. Hauser could be seen enjoying the city.
There would be photographs.
"It would be good for relations," the deputy said.
"Whose relations?"
"Everyone's, Japan-America and Paramount-Japan," the deputy said and bowed out.
They began in a shopping district.
Department store windows were already full of Christmas decorations.
Almost nobody in the crowd was Christian.
In one window, a plastic Santa held a bucket of fried chicken, a tradition, a guide explained proudly, begun by an American fast-food chain.
Duke walked a little behind the officials with his hands in his pockets. A line of photographers walked backward in front of him. It looked difficult.
Victoria found a shopkeeper selling lacquer boxes.
She held a long conversation using her five phrases, her hands, and a pen.
By the end, he gave her a discount. She gave him an autograph.
The next stop was Akihabara. The electronics district.
Whole streets of shops selling televisions, radios, VCRs stacked to the ceiling.
One shop sold nothing but pocket cassette players in a dozen colors. A girl in a pleated skirt was choosing a red one.
In one window, a row of VCRs played a loop from Star Wars on a dozen screens at once.
A crowd stood in front of it, entranced. Duke was slightly surprised. He couldnt remember if Star Wars was popular in Japan in his past life.
After a whole day of walking they finally went back.
Back at the hotel, Sheryl was waiting in the lobby with a folder in her hand.
"You'll want to sit down," she said.
"I've been on my feet all day, so, I'll take you up on that."
She opened the folder. "The Disney park outside Tokyo. The one on the reclaimed land, Construction has stalled."
Duke knew about it. The land was filled in from Tokyo Bay.
A Japanese company called Oriental Land owned the project. It was a license, not a partnership.
Oriental Land built and ran the park. Disney collected fees for the use of its name.
In his old life, the park would open in spring 1983 and fill with crowds for a very long time.
"Stalled how?"
"The financing partners have asked for a review. Oriental Land's people have phoned our office twice this week. And the Osaka prefecture government, which wants a park of its own, sent a letter."
"Saying what?"
"That they would rather build with Paramount. Apparently Disney is draggin their feet too."
Duke read the letter of formal English. It had clearly taken several people to produce. Then he read it again, more slowly. He wanted to be certain it said what it said.
Nothing in it sounded like a threat. Nothing needed to.
A theme park was an enormous bet.
Land, rides, thousands of workers, decades of repayments. A company that could pick its partner could also pick its terms.
"I want to meet them," he said. "Not tonight. In a few days."
"Why not tonight?"
"Because I have to call Eisner first. And if I meet them tonight, they'll think I'm in a hurry."
____
Got into a car accident and my car is now fcked, other guy didnt have insurance and now he's not answering my insurance calls.
AND STORAGE FEES ARE A THING AND THEY CHARGE A LOT(apparently I owe between 250$-500$)
Well, life is shit, heres a chapter. Will prob post again in around 5 hours.
Have a nice day guys