A commercial jet is said to burn about a gallon of fuel each second it's in the air. Keith pondered this while on his

Southwest

airlines flight over to

New York

. This had been just 48 hours ago.

Strange that all of that felt so far away. So long ago. The flight. His life back at home. The lab. It felt like a past version of himself.

But if he were to look at the calendar, he'd see that only two days had passed.

He could only contribute this stark contrast in time perception to change. He was changing at a rapid rate.

This was his first opera.

He had slept with Jackie that night.

And now he was back at his room. Washing his penis.