”The solution to our time dilemma was elegant. The concept had come about through market research indicating that people were more apt to surrender their time willingly if they felt they were at least making progress. Test candidates were shown examples of patrons waddling forward, inch-by-inch, as they made their way through a ride line at Disneyland. They were also shown alternative methods. The response pointed to a clear preference for the queue-line method over any of the alternatives. Specialists in charge of the study had dubbed this phenomenon the ‘theme park shuffle’ alternative.”
He was enjoying this opportunity to inspect the infamous Corridor at such a leisurely pace. For him, it was the most interesting part of the tour. He was only half-listening to the presentation as he poked around, examining the exterior walls and peering into the apparatus before stepping up the little ramp into the chamber itself. As their footfalls echoed through the empty space, he was reminded of that old news article he had been reading about the early days of inspection technology and those long tunnels people had such trouble negotiating. It struck him as odd that this new system could be so reminiscent of the old days, like a high-tech 2.0 version or something. Glancing down at the gleaming, polished floor, he could almost see the reflection of his shoes and trousers in the glassy surface. He wondered offhand if anyone ever had a slip-and-fall on the slick walkway as they rushed to make a connection. Then he realized that this inspection tour was probably the only time during operating hours the place wasn’t completely overloaded with customers. People rarely fell down when they were packed in like sardines.

On his way back to the office, he kept looking at the nondescript envelope sitting there on the seat beside him. Finally, the temptation was too much to contain. He pulled off the highway and down into a rest stop. Locating an isolated spot, he parked the car and reached over to have a look at the information that had cost him so much. As he was tearing off the sealed flap, a tremendous jolt knocked it out of his hands. He watched in slow-motion as the contents burst open and fluttered down to the floor. Then the pain registered, a second or so after his head impacted the side window with enough force to crack it.