Nokia Project Gener8

Here is my entry to the Nokia Project Gener8: Pier Roxas Story

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WHO IS PIER ROXAS?
Pier Roxas was Martin Sam, a contestant in an “Amazing Race”-kind of of a foreign reality TV show who set foot in the Philippines for their final shoot.
The contestants had a goal of finding the specific clue hidden in the island of Corregidor. From Quezon City as their point of origin, the contestants may choose their route with all the limited resources that they had.
THE CONTEST
The contestants are without any assistant or companion. They carry a GPS-tracked mobile and camera phone through which periodically they need to connect to internet to upload their whereabouts. Every internet connectivity has points being earned for their budget. They also need to shoot ads of sponsors for additional points.
While other contestants chose routes by land (North Expressway Way to Pampanga and Bataan or to down south to Cavite) Martin Sam took the direct route through Manila Bay even with a limited budget.
However, with this chosen route, Martin was able to earn more points and budget by hopping amongst the sponsor-rich places like Mall of Asia, Hotels, the Baywalk area, Rizal Park and many night-life establishments in Manila. Going to these places with all the featured sponsors (credit card, clothing line, money remittance centers, cellphone and computer accessories, etc) would give the contestants more budget on top of the incurred expenses. The money allowance was sent through a credit card or remittance.
The contestants were not allowed to communicate with their family or anyone else via the internet. The handsets had empty phonebook. They were also forbidden to reveal anything about themselves and about the show. The TV production crew may communicate with the contestants for instructions and monitoring. There were also field spies that verify their activities.
Martin stayed in one of the best hotels in Manila. He kept the very first parking ticket at the basement of a famous wellness center near the hotel in order to avail discounts in personal care services offered by this center.
Other contestants had Quezon City for north route and Makati for south route as their “grazing” cities.
After the allotted five days of earning points for their budget, Martin and the rest of the contestant were all set to go to the tourist island of Corregidor.
Martin bought two pairs of formal wear in a well-known clothing line (also a sponsor). He flirted with a beautiful travel agent named Myra who declined his short-notice request for a yacht that would take him to Corregidor. He convinced her instead to be his personal tour guide and translator.
Martin was able to find a small private yacht that would take him to Corregidor. He personally asked Myra to pretend as his girlfriend. Myra assisted him in renting this yacht. The yacht had a small private room and it was manned by two crew.
After sailing for few hours, they reached the island of Corregidor. Martin was unable to proceed with the clue-hunting activity if Myra was around. So he asked her to find a place in the nearby town of Mariveles and the nearest city of Balanga. The yacht docked in the Orion Port.
Martin asked Myra to buy hard-to-find local items and to send it through a courier. While Myra was out and busy, Martin sneaked to go back to Corregidor. They just met late in the evening at the hotel.
After two days, Martin successfully found the hidden clue. He needed to go back to Manila lest other contestants might catch up with him.
When Martin and Myra were about to board the yacht in Orion, Myra kissed the collar of Martin to pretend that they had been together. Martin already showed signs of exhaustion during that time.
It was already late in the evening. Martin asked the yacht crew to stop engine when they were far offshore and no cellular signal was possible. Martin was aware also that other contestants had no way to get back to Manila in the middle of the night. He decided to spend the night on board and wake up early on the following day.
Myra locked herself in the private room while Martin and one of the crew had casual drinks. In order to protect her, Martin asked for the key of the room.
But the cabin crew naughtily hid the key and would be given only if Martin can beat him in a drinking duel. Martin knew that he would lose because he has weak knees on native vodkas. He drank a few shots and insisted for another turn.
Martin was also uneasy because he had spent much that he was almost with empty pocket.
Under the influence of liquor, Martin revealed his true identity to the two crew. He promised that that he would pay the agreed remaining amount after the contest or after winning the prize. Martin asked to start the engine.
The crew were very angry not only because of unsettled payment but also an exposure of their underground operations. One of the cabin crew punched Martin on his face. Martin fell on the floor.
Myra was awoken by the commotion and the sound of the engine. The crew asked Myra if she knew about Martin’s adventures but Myra didn’t say a word.
Myra asked for the room key so she could attend to Martin. Myra locked themselves in the room and she slid the key to Martin’s trouser pocket. Then she heard the first SMS tone from the Nokia N8 of Martin. The message said “Congrats Martin, you are a few miles from your trophy. Take a shot of the MOA Globe when you get here.”
Myra took the wallet of Martin. She also inspected all his belongings. She explored that phone and she found pictures, videos and itinerary memos that she didn’t know when they were together. Myra turned to the cabin crew and asked to drop them at the MOA. But the cabin crew insisted that Martin would disembark only with his clothes and leaving everything else behind.
But Myra warned them that they were already monitored by the TV network through the GPS tracking of the mobile phone.
The cabin crew were puzzled. They manoeuvred towards LUNETA but they received a SMS saying “Why veering away?”
The cabin crew got frightened and they proceeded to the nearest port in Roxas Boulevard. Myra grabbed Martin’s phone and made a gesture of calling the authorities if they would not drop them off safely on nearby port.
The cabin crew had no choice but to let them go. They asked Myra to turn the unit off. Myra removed the sim and she also took the memory card.
They docked on the CCP area. The yacht immediately left the area after dropping off Martin and Myra. The latter was able to secure her personal shoulder bag inside a plastic bag containing rags that are full of vomits.
Myra was hesitant to get the phone of Martin lest she would be GPS-tracked too. She wanted to call the police or ambulance but she was afraid that she would be involved in this case. She decided to just leave the Nokia N8 with a Smart Sim. Turning the unit on would notify the network. So she ran away with Martin’s wallet, and the memory card from cellphone.
When Martin woke up in the morning along the pier, he remembered nothing. He turned on the mobile phone. After few minutes, the phone rang – the TV network was calling. Martin hastily answered the call and asked for help.
Then the TV production team arrived and Martin began to remember things when the team showed him his recorded and tracked itinerary. The attending physician said that Martin had temporary senile dementia.
Then one of the production team asked Martin, “Isnt she beautiful?”. Martin replied, “Who?”
Myra during that time broke into tears in front of her computer staring blankly on screen. The memory card she got was empty.

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