A
preflight caution…
Daedalus: Of course, do not fly near the sun but also, these wings, do not
speak of them to anyone.
Icarus: The knowledge is
dangerous?
Daedalus: There was a man in
China who made wings of bamboo and paper and flew. He was seen by the emperor.
The emperor considered the invention dangerous and had the flier killed.
Icarus: But flying is a
beautiful thing.
Daedalus: The flier was
killed before other evil men could build machines to fly over the Great Wall
and attack.
______________
Voice-over
Daedalus was not imprisoned
for building wings. Impetuosity killed his son Icarus instead. But there is a
parallel with Ray Bradbury’s Chinese story, The Flying Machine. Daedalus was imprisoned for his knowledge of the
Labyrinthe. The Chinese flier lost his head. Beware of inventing something
beautiful; leaders may see darkness in its design.
…
