“Helpful Pilot”
The pilot bids Tender Branson ironic assistance. Tender Branson expounds, “Under his parachute, the pilot still had on his nothing special blah-colored uniform that looked designed by an engineer. Except for this, he was really helpful. More helpful than I'd be with someone holding a pistol to my head and asking about how much fuel was left and how far would it get us. He told me how I could get the plane back up to cruising altitude after he'd parachuted out over the ocean. And he told me all about the flight recorder.” The pilot supports Tender Branson as if they were co-pilots. Typically, the pilot would have hesitated to offer his service considering that Tender Branson endangers his life. Besides, the pilot would have faltered in liaising with Tender Branson because it is apparent that he is on a suicidal undertaking.
“Feeding Passengers”
Tender Branson explicates, “Before we touched down in Port Vila, I was running all over the cabin with my gun, trying to get the passengers and crew fed. Did they need a fresh drink? Who needed a pillow? Which did they prefer, I was asking everybody, the chicken or the beef? Was that decaf or regular? Food service is the only skill where I really excel. The problem was all this meal service and rushing around had to be one-handed, of course, since I had to keep hold of the gun.” Tender Branson’s concern for the passengers is ironic. One would not expect that a typical hijacker to be concerned about the passengers’ nourishment. His weird conduct suggests that his purpose is not to hurt the passengers. He is only fascinated with winding-up his individual lifespan without disturbing the passengers.
‘Crisis Hotline’
Tender Branson recalls, “The idea (operating a ‘crisis hotline’) came by accident when a newspaper did a feature about a real crisis hotline. The phone number in the paper was mine by mistake. It was a typo. Nobody read the correction they ran the next day, and people just started calling me day and night with their problems. Please don't think I'm here to save lives. To be or not to be, I don't labor the decision. And don't think I'm above talking to women this way. Vulnerable women. Emotional cripples.” Customarily, a crisis hotline is envisioned to avert the prevalence of tragedies such as suicides since callers are directed on how to evade the enticements to partake in actions that are disparaging. However, the typo error permits Tender Branson to activate a hotline which heartens suicide which does not redeem lives of suicidal personalities.
