Flying

Unbelievably, the huge metal cylinder detached from solid ground and shot upwards at a speed of 300 km/h. As the earth fell away, cities and mountains turned minuscule and toylike underneath the plane. Inside it were old-fashioned humans who just happened to live in the future.The machine burned through the sky, sheltering its little breathing creatures from an Arctic winter ten thousand meters above ground. Inside the trembling metal cocoon it was warm and cosy, and the humans curled their little clothed feet up under them and had a fizzy drink, or snored gently on their neighbour's shoulder.

The machine flew through a sunset and a long darkness, until it pierced another sunset and reached the second evening of the day.

Again the airplane gave in to gravity, and let itself be gently pulled back down to earth. It hit the ground with a violent speed best suited to air, bumping and hobbling gracelessly along until, all its surplus energy exhausted, it finally stood still.

Like indolent Greek gods, the small group of people inside had shot across half the globe sitting comfortably in their chairs. Now they were making a miraculous apparition on a new continent.

Having arrived to their destination of choice, people got up from the armchairs they had settled their buttocks into in the morning, and stepped off into a new world.