fly by

it was New Year's Eve at some time in the future and we were all way drunk. revellers, we snaked in and out of strange parties like consummate shoppers prowling Hong Kong's indoor shopping labyrinths. we got into a topless vehicle and idled. there was more to this night than senseless drinking. the city was thick with worry. there were protests on every street corner and whispers of stealthy kidnappings and massacres. the army had been called in. a nondescript black helicopter had begun to follow us and would continuously reappear wherever we ended up. the city felt suddenly tiny. we were all sitting around a cosy little park square, gossiping, when we finally gave in and let the secretive men from the helicopter whisk some of us away. they obviously wanted to know what we knew - not so much about the chaos already in progress, but whatever apparent expertise we all possessed in coming to some resolution. i was lifted into the door of the chopper and told to hold the hand of the person next to me. she was telling me how different air currents can make you lose your lunch, no matter how experienced you might be. it looked like Mach speed but felt much smoother. i could see the burnt out husks of buildings and bridges now reduced to simple line outlines, as if carefully scribbled by a five year old with an extremely steady hand. we spoke of the destruction and what little we could probably do to stop it now. now that we were unwilling participants.