A Hologram for the King

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1

You may find yourself

living in your garden shack

And you may find yourself

not at home in your home

And you may find yourself

looking for your large automobile

And you may find yourself

without a beautiful house

Without a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself

"Well, how did I get here?"

Same as it ever was,

same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Same as it ever was

Welcome to the Hyatt Jeddah.

I need you shiny

and bright here, Alan.

Look, we both know

the only reason you got this job

is your connection

to the king's nephew.

You're in charge of a deal

that's pivotal for the company,

which makes it

even more pivotal for you.

But you've got more questions

than answers here.

And that makes me

uncomfortable.

There are unanswered

questions here

because I haven't

been to Saudi yet.

I can't presume to know

the lay of the land

or the state

of the king's mind.

You've been on the bench

for a while, Alan.

This isn't

the Schwinn days.

You're not selling

bicycles to kids anymore.

So I need to know

that you're on point,

that you're going

to close this.

This is sales.

You make estimates.

And you make plans.

But then you get there

and everything changes.

But you make the sale.

I know, I'm sorry.

I got in really late last night

and I forgot

to set the alarm.

Don't worry, we're just getting set up.

Hold on. Do you guys know how

Alan can get a ride out here?

Maybe he should rent a car.

- Can you rent a car, Alan?

- I'll figure it out.

- Front desk.

- This is Alan Clay. Who am I speaking with?

- My name is Edward, sir.

- Edward. Where are you from, Edward?

- Jakarta, Indonesia, sir.

- Jakarta!

Indonesia. Edward,

what would you think

of me renting a car

through the hotel?

Do you have an international

driver's license?

No, I don't.

Then, no, I don't think it

would be possible to do this.

- Well, could I hire a car and a driver, then?

- Where to?

The King's Metropolis

of Economy and Trade.

Morning.

Excuse me.

- Are you Alan Clay?

- Are you the driver?

Driver, guide, hero.

Yousef.

Oh, no, no, no. I'm not a chauffeur.

Get in the front.

There's a water,

if you like.

You sure this thing

will get us there?

I drive this thing

to Riyadh all the time.

It never fails me.

Just one second.

- So, everything's okay?

- Oh, yeah, no.

I just had to disconnect the engine

before I came into the lobby.

- Why?

- To make sure no one wires it.

You mean hot-wires it

to steal it?

No, I mean wiring it

to explode.

No, no.

It's nothing terroristic.

This... just this guy who

thinks I'm screwing his wife.

He might be trying

to kill me.

Here we go.

- So, I'm in a car that might explode?

- No, no, no, no, no.

It's nothing to worry about. I don't think

he knows how to wire a car that way.

He's not a tough guy,

he's just rich.

It would only be possible

if he hired someone.

If you were

this rich guy,

you would hire someone

to wire the car

of the man screwing

your wife, yes?

F***. Now you

got me scared.

Anyway, Alan?

Where are you from?

Boston.

Ah, yeah, Boston.

I've been to Alabama.

One year of college.

- You studied in Alabama?

- Yeah.

Why Alabama?

You mean because I was the

only Arab for 1,000 miles?

I had a scholarship for

one year in Birmingham.

- Birmingham?

- Yeah.

Oh, I like Birmingham.

Are you hungry?

You want something to eat?

You mean like stop at a restaurant?

We just got in the car.

- We could go to a place in the old city.

- No, I'm in a hurry, remember?

Oh, you're late?

No, they didn't tell me you were late.

No, we should be going

this way if you're late.

- Do you like Chicago?

- Not in the winter.

- No, the band.

- Oh.

You know our love

was meant to be

The kind of love

to last forever...

- How long is the drive?

- To KMET?

- What?

- The King's Metropolis of Economy and Trade.

- We call it KMET.

- Yes, to KMET.

Is that where

we're going?

Just kidding.

It's about an hour.

- What time you supposed to be there?

- Eight, eight-thirty.

- Oh.

- Everywhere I go...

- You'll be there at noon.

- Always on my mind...

- Hey, want a mint?

- In my heart, in my soul...

No?

Baby, you're the meaning

in my life

Hey, you know what?

I don't like Chicago.

Oh. Okay.

Let's see what else

we have on here, huh?

Oh.

- Hey, so, why are you going to KMET?

- Work.

- Ah, you're in construction?

- No, I'm in IT.

Ah, IT. But you know there's

nothing happening there.

- Well, not yet.

- No, not ever.

I've done my due diligence.

I'm presenting out there.

It's full steam ahead.

Okay.

See for yourself.

Look, they're sweeping sand in a desert.

I'm guessing

these aren't union men.

Oh, we don't have unions here.

We have Filipinos.

- Ah, Mr. Clay?

- Yes.

We've been expecting you.

I'm Sayed.

Sayed.

Salaam alaikum.

I'm sorry to hear that

you missed the shuttle.

I understand the hotel

had some trouble waking you.

- I'm sorry I'm late.

- The king won't be coming today.

So your tardiness

is inconsequential.

Is my Relyand team

somewhere in here?

No, they're in

the presentation area.

- Follow me. Some juice?

- Oh, thank you.

So, Mr. Clay, allow me to conjure

Our Majesty's dream.

This is where

we are right now.

And this is the city

in the year 2025.

Hosting a minimum

of 1.5 million.

Port is there.

Industrial city.

University.

Business center.

Life and leisure park.

Very impressive.

I have to go.

Here, in case

you sleep in again.

Full steam ahead!

We'll see you at 3:00.

Over there in the main building.

Ask for Karim Al-Ahmad.

He's your primary contact.

- My team is in there?

- Yes.

- In a tent?

- Yes. I trust you'll find everything inside.

Howdy.

There he is.

Hey.

- Cayley. Brad. Good to see you.

- Alan.

- Rachel.

- Welcome.

So, how are you guys

doing in here?

Fine, but we can't

get a Wi-Fi signal.

Except for a faint one

from that big pagoda.

I mean

the office building.

- Asked anyone about it?

- We figured we'd wait for you.

We've been trying

to e-mail Karim.

Karim Al-Ahmad.

I have a meeting with him at 3:00.

- That's great.

- Which is soon.

Yeah, that's

not gonna work.

- But what if the king arrives today?

- He won't.

I was told

he wouldn't.

- Oh, good.

- And you've met him before?

The king?

No. No, no, no. I...

I just met his nephew.

And that

was years ago.

- Was he a prince?

- Yeah. Yes, he was.

And he still is.

What do you call

a fish with no eye?

- I don't know.

- Fshshsh.

Anyway, look, the king is not coming today.

So you guys can just relax.

Shouldn't we call corporate

and let them know

that conditions here

are untenable?

No, Brad, we should wait until I

talk to Karim Al-Ahmad at 3:00.

Do you know why we're

not in that building?

Well, maybe all the

vendors are in here.

And maybe

we're just the first.

Kind of weird being Relyand

and being out here.

It's a brand-new city.

It's uncharted territory.

And we are the trailblazers.

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