Well it’s that time again. Time to get to the emissions station, and get the car tested. Twenty bucks, valid registration, a little bit of time, and it’s all set. I’m hoping the vehicle passes the test.
The test station is on Federal Road. I get in line. The wait is about thirty minutes. The mid morning weather feels comfortable, so I step outside until they finish. I’ve got a copy of Dracula that I’m reading. It seems like a good time to catch up on the story. Great read.
Sitting in the sun in front of the station I notice the sunshine feels very warm, almost uncomfortable. Like a heater is being held up to my face. My glance rises to the sky. This station is up nearly at the top of a local hill. The view afforded from here is a broad open one of the sky to the south. The sky is light blue with some clouds that look like dusty cobwebs from an unused attic or crawl space. Bram Stokers Dracula sits open on my knee while a notification contemplation begins of the scene unfolding in the sky.
Tracing from east to west in the air to the south is a jet plane leaving a cloud trail in it’s wake. I notice that there are parallel trail streams which line up as virtual lines of latitude. The one presently being made is the next in the series. It is concentrated and relatively fine. Each preceding one is less concentrated, thicker, and puff out appearing more cloud like. They begin to look like long clouds. Now over my left shoulder I notice a jet plane heading in this direction from north to south like it’s coming over the hill and going right overhead. The plane flying north-south is also leaving a trail. It crosses the parallel ladder like trails on a diagonal followed by another plane also flying north to south and leaving a thin intense cloud stream. This stream is discontinuous, but it also criss crosses the ladder lines. This all works together to form an overhead grid. All the streams join into a less distinguished yet complete haze cloud covering union.
The thought comes to mind that perhaps there should be emission testing for airplanes, as much as for cars. I look back at Dracula. The next line pins my heart to the back of my chest. I quote Bram Stoker, “He is experimenting, and doing it well; and if it had not been that we have crossed his path he would yet be- he may be yet if we fail- the father or furtherer of a new order of beings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life.”