Chat Room
04-14-2009, 09:55 AM
Everything is dark for billions of years, but suddenly I awake and I realise that I'm on the steps of a bus. I don't remember anything.
"What am I doing here?" I ask the driver, bemused.
"Well your parents bought you a ticket," he says, handing me a little slip of cardboard. I take it off him and read it. The printout on the ticket reads "Life - Round Trip - Open."
Behind me I hear the doors slam shut.
"Hey!" I shout, "I didn't ask for this. Let me off..." But the driver is already pulling out.
"Sorry, kiddo," the driver says. "That ain't how it works..."
"But when do I get to come back?" I say.
"Well, the ticket is open, but your return journey depends on a lot of things," says the driver. "The buses that bring you back don't actually have any schedule, - they just stop pretty much wherever and whenever they want to, and pick people up at random."
"But that's crazy!" I protest. "What kind of a service is this?"
"Sorry," says the driver. "I don't make the rules."
"So where are you taking me?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. I'll just drop you off on impulse. Fingers crossed it'll be a nice neighbourhood."
"But I want to go back!" I exclaim. "How do I get one of those return buses? There must be some way of tracking them down."
The driver laughs. "Oh, they're pretty tough to track down, and they have a habit of just running into you and breaking a few bones if you get in their way. People do occasionally hop on board when the driver isn't paying attention, but they're usually quite sneaky about avoiding that. Wait long enough and one will eventually just turn up, often when you least expect it."
Resigned to my fate I shuffle past the driver and take a seat...
"What am I doing here?" I ask the driver, bemused.
"Well your parents bought you a ticket," he says, handing me a little slip of cardboard. I take it off him and read it. The printout on the ticket reads "Life - Round Trip - Open."
Behind me I hear the doors slam shut.
"Hey!" I shout, "I didn't ask for this. Let me off..." But the driver is already pulling out.
"Sorry, kiddo," the driver says. "That ain't how it works..."
"But when do I get to come back?" I say.
"Well, the ticket is open, but your return journey depends on a lot of things," says the driver. "The buses that bring you back don't actually have any schedule, - they just stop pretty much wherever and whenever they want to, and pick people up at random."
"But that's crazy!" I protest. "What kind of a service is this?"
"Sorry," says the driver. "I don't make the rules."
"So where are you taking me?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. I'll just drop you off on impulse. Fingers crossed it'll be a nice neighbourhood."
"But I want to go back!" I exclaim. "How do I get one of those return buses? There must be some way of tracking them down."
The driver laughs. "Oh, they're pretty tough to track down, and they have a habit of just running into you and breaking a few bones if you get in their way. People do occasionally hop on board when the driver isn't paying attention, but they're usually quite sneaky about avoiding that. Wait long enough and one will eventually just turn up, often when you least expect it."
Resigned to my fate I shuffle past the driver and take a seat...