In The Big Inning...

So, when you're driving on a highway, and then you get off onto surface streets, and you tend to go really fast because otherwise it seems like you're just going too damn slow, the word they've made up for that is "velocitation". Sounds pretty formal. I had an experience today that I've had many times before, but it made me think a bit. I experienced "Escalation Velocitation". I was exiting the Metro, and approached the escalator. As I approached the escalator, it was very clear to me that it was off. It wasn't moving. This was obvious to even my primitive monkey brain. Nevertheless, as I stepped onto the escalator, it felt to me that I was moving backwards - similar to what happens when you get OFF an escalator - your body starts moving slower than expected. But I KNEW the escalator wasn't moving. I KNEW I wasn't going to be carried by the escalator. Nevertheless, some part of my consciousness wasn't paying attention, because that part of me expected to be propelled forward, and was a bit shocked when I wasn't. Apparently that part of me didn't get the memo.

This disturbs me. Escalators are not natural. It means that I have taken so many escalators in my life that it is now ingrained in my being to expect to move faster when I approach something that looks like an escalator even if I know it's not moving. It's like I've developed a new instinct. One that's completely useless. I know it's not that reasonable, but I'd to have as much control over my body as possible. It bothers me that something completely foreign now owns part of me. Are there other devices that have stolen my soul? If I were to sit in front of a broken TV, would the screen start looking really dim because it wasn't on? If I get in a car that's broken, will I eventually start to feel like I'm going backwards? And can I suppress this escalator instinct, or is it now permanent? If I were to not take an escalator for, say, 15 years, would that be enough to no longer experience this feeling? I demand answers!