Honk twice if you realize that your car is on fire

[zdashamber]

Tonight on the way home around midnight, I passed a car and glanced over to see that, what with the thick plastic taped over the hole where the driver's window once was, the car might for all I could tell have been empty. I dropped back a bit, and the ghost car stepped on the gas and zoomed in front of me, crossing a couple lanes--billowing thick white smoke all the way. It smelled like burning brakes, but it was coming out of the tailpipe. The ghost car drove on without changing speed or lane.

Hoom, I thought, I should probably let them know that their car is on fire.

I didn't want to flash my lights, because that's a "get out of my way, dumbass" sign, so I accelerated up on the passenger side and rolled down my window a bit, wishing my keylight was easier to get to for signalling. The passenger window was also covered in thick plastic, but I could see the silouhette of a guy against it: so it was only a ghost driver with a human riding shotgun. I waved and cried, "Dude! Your car is on fire!" And then I was hit with the realization: I had no way to mime this, in the dark after midnight with both of us driving 60 mph down an 8-lane highway. I paddled my hand like I was combing smoke from where we were to the rear of the car. "There are flames!" Which was not technically true to my observations, but it's not like they could hear me anyway. However, the ghost car honked twice.

Considering this either an acknowledgement or a shot across the bow, I dropped back and observed. The ghost car continued on, hardly smoking now. My work as done as possible, I passed on and left the car to explode or spin out somewhere behind where it wouldn't interfere with my travel.

Lessons: 1. Honking isn't just for alerting sleeping people to green lights or to the lack of physics supporting quantum tunneling on the automobile level (ie, "I'm here! Where you're merging!"). 2. The dome light would be a good addition to an intercar mime routine. 3. Intercar communications are still really, really primitive.

Comments

The downside of hailing other cars with communicators

[ameer-tavakoli.livejournal.com]

Haven't you learned your lesson from watching Johnny Quest or Star Trek? Once you have good communicators, the Boolean Tree of possibilities quickly spirals down into a lose-lose situations.

Either: a) Hostile forces will attempt to take over your car by initially hacking their way into your Virtual Reality Chamber or b) one of the ships crew will sleep with you ... and do you really want to wake up to see a spandex leotard on your floor in the morning?

There's Klingons off the starboard bow!

[zdashamber.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I dunno, is the crewmember one of the green-skinned types? that might be intriguing...

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

or to the lack of physics supporting quantum tunneling on the automobile level

You are very funny. :)

[zdashamber.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Strength on the depression. I have also been feeling unwillingly dissolute this past month; so much to do, so easy to lie there and read, but even so not helpful...