The Man in the Mask
It wasn't an Iron Mask or a Venetian Mask or even a 'Prince William' mask, (the last type I believe come out only once a generation in the UK). Rather it was a black rubber mask with little metal studs on the side. Looked a little bit like something you would wear in the event of a chemical attack.
It was worn by a muscular, tattooed, shaved-head (or bald bloke) sitting in the tube. It was impossible not to stare at him. Much to my satisfaction, I saw that there were several people like me who pretended to scan the adverts above him and then surreptitiously glanced at him before forcing their eyes to move to the next ad panel.
A few thoughts flashed in my head over the course of the 3 tube stops on the Northern Line that i shared with the Masked Man. Is there a new type of flu that can only be prevented by wearing black rubber masks which look like they will choke you if the flu doesn't get to you first? Or maybe it is a mock security exercise using actual citizens to try biodegradable protective gear? Or maybe its someone with a disorder that prevents him to share oxygen with fellow commuters? But looking closely it appeared that the nose & mouth was fully covered and there was no obvious oxygen supply. Finally, it dawned on me - they have now cloned humans who can breathe in some oxygen, release CO2, then inhale this CO2 and release oxygen again, thus able to survive for hours on the limited air trapped in a mask. What a remarkable solution to humanity's problems.Space, here we come. Or here we come further than before anyway.
As my eyes landed to the person on his left, I saw another black t-shirt, another tattooed arm and two black underwater (?) goggles, one on the guy's head and one around his neck. These too had little studs but on the straps. Aha, I thought, there is an underwater version of the clone too! I glanced again at the first guy to see if they resembled each other (well the cloned sheep all look the same). The only obvious similarity was two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth. Homo Sapiens then.
Then I did what I should have done first- I looked at their feet. They were both wearing black boots with... little studs. Yup - fancy dress party in town. The lady near me (who wins the True Londoner award for sitting right across and resisting to glance at them more than 5 seconds in that duration!) seemed to have reached the same conclusion as she nodded to herself imperceptibly.
My tube stop arrived and I readied myself to hop out but I cannot forget the look on the face of a South Asian dude who,with mouth half open, kept staring at all co-commuters one by one, as if trying to check whether this was real and wondering if, per chance, he had forgotten to collect his mask at the oyster card machine.
It was worn by a muscular, tattooed, shaved-head (or bald bloke) sitting in the tube. It was impossible not to stare at him. Much to my satisfaction, I saw that there were several people like me who pretended to scan the adverts above him and then surreptitiously glanced at him before forcing their eyes to move to the next ad panel.
A few thoughts flashed in my head over the course of the 3 tube stops on the Northern Line that i shared with the Masked Man. Is there a new type of flu that can only be prevented by wearing black rubber masks which look like they will choke you if the flu doesn't get to you first? Or maybe it is a mock security exercise using actual citizens to try biodegradable protective gear? Or maybe its someone with a disorder that prevents him to share oxygen with fellow commuters? But looking closely it appeared that the nose & mouth was fully covered and there was no obvious oxygen supply. Finally, it dawned on me - they have now cloned humans who can breathe in some oxygen, release CO2, then inhale this CO2 and release oxygen again, thus able to survive for hours on the limited air trapped in a mask. What a remarkable solution to humanity's problems.Space, here we come. Or here we come further than before anyway.
As my eyes landed to the person on his left, I saw another black t-shirt, another tattooed arm and two black underwater (?) goggles, one on the guy's head and one around his neck. These too had little studs but on the straps. Aha, I thought, there is an underwater version of the clone too! I glanced again at the first guy to see if they resembled each other (well the cloned sheep all look the same). The only obvious similarity was two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth. Homo Sapiens then.
Then I did what I should have done first- I looked at their feet. They were both wearing black boots with... little studs. Yup - fancy dress party in town. The lady near me (who wins the True Londoner award for sitting right across and resisting to glance at them more than 5 seconds in that duration!) seemed to have reached the same conclusion as she nodded to herself imperceptibly.
My tube stop arrived and I readied myself to hop out but I cannot forget the look on the face of a South Asian dude who,with mouth half open, kept staring at all co-commuters one by one, as if trying to check whether this was real and wondering if, per chance, he had forgotten to collect his mask at the oyster card machine.
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