I am 33.23 seconds into Hexagonest. It’s far and away my best performace in Super Hexagon. I’m spinning in circles and line are flying at me from every direction. I’m tapping furiously and nothing seems like it can contain me. I am playing like an absolute hero. I wish somebody was watching because I am having a hard time believing I am playing so well.
“Excellent.” Jenn Frank says in a monotone, robotic voice. Despite her limited role in the game, I’m glad somebody is taking note of my efforts. I detect something vaguely encouraging about the comment.
– – –
Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder. Has my wish come true? Maybe it’s a fellow Hexagoner who happened to spot my run coming to acknowledge my prowess?
“Sir, could you please turn off your device, we are peparing for landing.” Shit. I hazard a guess the voice belongs to a flight attendant. Am I imagining this? But of course I’m not.
“Yeah — one second.” I distantly reply. My thumbs, which only 10 seconds ago seemed to have a mind of their own, feel like they are lagging behind the commands of my brain. 39 seconds.
“…Sir, you are going to have shut that down now. We are descending.” 45 Seconds.
I am getting distracted, but I still am trying to buy some time. “I’m sorry — yeah — I’m shutting it down—”
“Game. Over.” Jenn informs me. Whatever hope I thought she had for me was gone. Her tone sounds like she expected this all along.
“Sir?”
I am fuming but I try to contain myself. My glory is shattered. This flight attendant has no idea what she has done, how could she? “Okay, yes.” I push the top button on my iPad (does that even shut it down?). I tell her “It’s off” a little too sharply, half hoping she feels a little something for ruining such a beautiful run. She doesn’t seem to care and moves on down the aisle.
In a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski urged the agency to “enable greater use of tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices” during flights.
The FAA is currently reviewing the issue. With any luck the FAA will realize that passengers need that extra time to use their phones, play their portable game systems, and use those tablets for productive things like checking out the latest gossip on Radar Online.
I still haven’t beaten Hexagonest. I may lost my phenomenal run in Super Hexagon, but everyone need not. FAA: If it truly is safe, let us use electronics for the duration of our flights.