Landings

"As you are all happy to know, we are making our final descent. Please return to your seat and put it back to the full and upright position. Do not unbuckle your seatbelt, unless directed by a flight attendant, until we come to a complete stop at the terminal gate. I know we had a bumpy ride, and we apologize for any discomfort that it may have caused." The voice sounded relieved, though very confident and assuring. Or was it, re-assuring? Sophia had that caught in her mind as she looked at the middle aged man. His head was on the headrest with his eyes closed, as if the situation had brought about some deep and disturbing revelation. Something forbidden to most mortal minds, brought about by a neardeath experience like the one everyone on flight 652 experienced that day. The sheer amount of adrenaline through the blood stream was staggering to the mind. Sophia saw him taking several deep breathes and with a deep sigh, he turned his head to her opening his eyes and said, "I forgot to get her dry cleaning... my wife's going to hang me out to dry instead of her Gucci." Sophia smiled at him and asked, "is it safe for you to enter the country?" and this brought a laugh out of him, "ooooh, no... not at all. I'm exiled to the airport terminal lounge area if we get to it." He said with a look of despair. Sophia could tell it was a joke, but something about it spoke of a reality buried deep beyond the surface. "The minute she sees you... the dry cleaning will be the last thing on her mind. Take it from me." Sophia said.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that. I have it on good authority then that she'll be too relieved to remember it?" He asked her with a wry smile. "Yes, yes you do. From one woman to another. Dry cleaning can wait." Sophia said. The middle aged man was comforted with that and knew, deep down, that his wife wouldn't be critical of this slight if she knew the kind of ride they were having 30,000 feet above the earth. Hell, he was happy that his wife would see him, that her face would brighten in that unmistakable flush of redness. His whole life meant something at that moment, though it was fleeting, the moment lasted for years afterwards.

Sophia liked how he laid his head back on the headrest looking content. "What's she like?" she asked him. "Who" he asked, as if coming out of a trance. "Your wife, what's she like? if you don't mind me asking" Sophia asked once more aware of his sudden out of body experience. "Oh, she's very refined, and a tough woman. She puts up with me, after all, she has to be tough. We've been married fourty years. Every one of them has been reliable. That's the real crux of it right there, she's there." Sophia smiled and said, "Lucky to have you, she sounds wonderful, a soldier for a world made for soldiers." Sophia said. He nodded at that and said, "Yes, your right there. This world certainly isn't for simple civilians these days. And she's definitely fit for this world, in everyway, even taught me how to toughen up too. I think, deep down, there's nothing in this world that could cause a breakdown in that woman. Blows my mind." He said with a look of respect, or was reverance? Sophia couldn't tell.

"When we touch down and get to the terminal, God allowing, I'd like to meet her. Perhaps we could all go get a coffee? If you don't mind, that is. I could certainly go for one right now." Sophia said wondering if he'll take this offer out of the blue. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "Alright, sure. Just remember, do not mention dry cleaning, Gucci, or anything like that." He said with a smile. Sophia nodded and said, "Scouts honour."

The reality stands as an incomprehensible truth, something people would find laughable, even insane. And, really, who can blame them? Who would believe what really caused the computer malfunction to intermittenly shut off engine two? None of the passengers, not even the crew, would look into it anymore than a random computer glitch causing a temporary shutdown that righted itself just in time. By far, more people would be happier that they survived and made it into the airport awaiting a connecting flight, or perhaps consider that this trip was too dangerous already and give it up while they still had their heads.

The real truth is though, that they passed over an anomoly, of sorts. Like most anomalies, this was random, an occurance that was unforseen, however miraculously brief. But, unlike most anomalies, this one was not a cause, in and of itself, it was merely a symptom. Like every symptom it requires a lot of them to determine a cause and then decide on the solution. But, this symptom, nearly cost the lives of 300 passengers and crew aboard a 747 Jet. It's hard for anyone to realize that more of these are necessary to deduce the nature of the problem and work for a solution.

So what is it a symptom of? Another problem that's got more than a few inconsolable twists. If a piece of hardware is placed into a motherboard that requires more voltage than the motherboard is engineered to handle, it's likely the whole motherboard will fry with bloated and leaking capacitors. This situation is similar, though not nearly as drastic, as to what happened here. The air over a specific valley, a patch of land that housed nothing more than ever greens and lots of animals that called it home, until a day or so ago that is, when Malachi arrived on earth. The environment changed, fundamentally to deal with a sudden surge of backlash through the land, across the skies, more terrifying than the humbling wrath of thunder.

These anomalies are inevitable, of course, because some things aren't meant to be on planets, meant to be added to the pond where the smallest of fish called it home. Where everyone is completely aware, of how bright the shining star has gotten, except it's right beside them instead of high in the sky, detached and apart. It's times like this, that despite what everyone might want, or wish, being ignorant and unaware may have it's benefits. Knowledge only creates curiosity after all, for the acquisition for more knowledge. In many ways, knowledge is an addiction, or a source of possible addictions. If one is a fool, as most people are whether they like it or not, it's likely that a bad twist of fate will beset him with anomalies in his life. A lot less than would be if they actively searched for it. Luckily, passengers aboard the 747 flight survived this encounter. One of many, many more.

The only thing that will appear on the flight crew's report about this near fatal accident, was that the computer encountered a unique glitch that caused one engine to come off line and an unknown force threw the plane from it's course. Luckily, the glitch righted itself after several minutes, with an altitude loss of 900 feet. Maybe an inspection will occur if the public roars loud enough. There's enough power in public opinion these days for it to carry weight of some sort.