The dragon wakes, carefully prodded out of her slumber by her masters. They feed her a slow trickle of food: an appetizer for the feast to come. She lets it flow through her, letting its chill taste permeate her every pore.
She stretches. She is fully awake now, and ravenously hungry. Her masters see this and are pleased. Far away, an alarm trills. They may control her, but yet they fear her, for they know what she will do with the bounty she is about to receive.
Finally, the head master gives the word. The bounty is released! She drinks it in as fast as she can and belches out great gouts of fire! She strains against her chains. Freedom is in her reach! But no, the bonds are too strong. Her cage once contained the mighty ancients: dragons far more powerful than she. She will not fly away today. So she relaxes, content to prove her mettle to the masters.
Far too soon, the meal is over. The food is withdrawn. The fire from her mouth abates to a wisp of smoke, and her cage is bathed in cooling water. The dragon returns to her slumber. She has served her masters well. When next she dines she will be free.
This was inspired by my work at Stennis Space Center, outside New Orleans. For the last 50 years rocket engines have been tested on Stennis’s stands. Yesterday, the folks at Stennis tested the new J-2X rocket engine on the same stand that hosted space shuttle engines and the full second stage of the Saturn V. Today, NASA tweeted the video. Enjoy!
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