A Biological Adaptation Regarded as a Program for Wetware

EMERGENCY
DUMP NON-RELEVANT DATA
FORWARD SPEED: TWENTY-FIVE MPH
ON THE RIGHT: CONCRETE WALL
ON THE LEFT: LARGE, FAST-MOVING OBJECT
AHEAD: TREE BRANCH, STILL MOVING, BRUSHY, WIDER THAN LANE
CHANCE OF DODGING: ZERO
CHANCE OF RIDING THROUGH: ZERO
CHANCE OF STOPPING: ZERO
FORWARD SPEED: FIFTEEN MPH
IMPACT
COMBINED MASS PROCEEDS ON ORIGINAL COURSE AT DECREASING SPEED
(dear God, don't let me swerve, don't let me fall,
_don't let that car snag the end of this branch_.)
FORWARD SPEED: ZERO
ROAD NARROW, VISIBILITY POOR
OTHER VEHICLES AVOIDING TANGLE
(dear God, how long can they keep it up?)
BRANCH AFFIXED BY TWIG THROUGH RIGHT-HAND PEDAL
FOOT FREE
BIKE FREE
(I'm afraid to go back into the tunnel after that branch,
but I've got to come this way again.)
END OF BRANCH CUT, NOT BROKEN
(what was the last image before the shock amnesia?
A large vehicle passing,
possibly an uncovered truck loaded with tree prunings.)
UNREASONING ANGER
TRAFFIC NOW PERMITS RE-ENTRY, CONTINUATION OF JOURNEY
(fiddlesticks! That was a brand-new sock.)