The Final Commute

[chemistryguy]

There was no logical reason why the highway was folding back onto itself. Nonetheless, Ted found himself in the curious situation of driving his Impala up a sheer blacktop incline. As his car slowed, he attempted to compensate with a bit more gas. The pedal sank useless to the carpeted floor. With a numb sense of dread, Ted noted that none of his fellow commuters appeared to share his predicament. An alarm began sounding in his head.

“I think he was asleep,” said the bystander to the state patrolman, “but he was doing better than 100 when his car flipped.”


There have been many times on my 50 minute commute that I've found myself starting to drift. The frightening thing about these episodes is that it seems the harder I resist sleep, the greater my body fights back. I usually pull off at the next exit and procure a caffeinated beverage, but I typically check my surroundings once I've arrived home safely to verify that I am indeed awake.

[strawman]

Been there. And had the suspicion that I may inhabit a universe in which I have crashed and burned, but seamlessly made the jump to an alternate universe. Who knows how many times this may have happened? Who knows how many chances I have left in my account?

This may be an unstudied aspect of video game exposure. We are just avatars.

[gunsofchekhovia]

Oh, man. There is nothing that feels better than falling asleep at the wheel, getting that little bit of rest when you really need it, and nothing more frightening than waking up and realizing you were asleep at the wheel. I mean, theoretically. Not that it's ever happened to me.

This is an excellent piece, chemistryguy, and a sobering one.

[Varda]

Great piece, and surreal. I can really relate, especially right now. I've been up since 3AM...

[Flintknapper]

creepy. I think we can all relate. Very atmospheric.