“The Engineer”. Interlude.
Retelling of “ Flowing Inertia”; a vignette of the Engineer and the unwelcome company that breaks the solitude.
Book I: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Interlude.
Book II: 1, 2, 3, 4.

The strange sounds of travel,
the divine painting of the cosmos,
inspire them to song.

Small happy laughs echo,
dancing from aluminum to steel,
making the cold metal warm.

Only a few of them are awake,
just the flight crew,
their emergency hands,
and that strange engineer
that would rather stay awake.

It’s alright;
the crews appreciate the company,
and he’s a good man.

As they drift, they are seen,
a thousands eyes pierce them,
consider them,
hate them.

The armies of sharp stone
and grinding metal
mobilize under command.

Today will be a beautiful day
decorated by chaos
and wicked winds,
blessed by vengeance.

But wait,
wait.
Patience.
They must honor the sacred
with the perfect moment.

The engineer stares out,
the navigator playing a harp,
the machines humming along,
the pilot tapping a small beat.

The engineer stares directly at doom
but he does not see it;
he sees only beauty.

A tear rolls down his face,
for he knows,
he is free;
he is never alone.

Staring at the looming menace,
he saw only the stars,
heard only the celestial song,
just before the reverie ends,
he knows that perfect moment hanging between Heaven and Hell.