SOLARIS DAWN

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

It was already day break before Ody realized that he hadn't slept much at all. The light, cascading in through his wiry blinds, illuminated a tattered poster that hung over his worn dresser. Presented at the forefront was a bold, muscular figure, adorned in a strikingly deep royal blue racing suit and wearing a twinkling smile. Underneath was his name, Orion Strider, and title, The Storm-chaser. It quickly occurred to Ody that the name was cheesy but secretly, childishly, cool. It was the perfect title for a superstar racer born in the extreme winds of Neptune.

Ody could exactly envision the racer's gold medal victory in the first annual interplanetary circuit and Solaris Grand Prix. The ultimate event took place on a specially constructed three-dimensional track orbiting Luna, complete with hard light displays and spherical anti-gravity-powered camera systems. Those lucky enough to attend the race in person were situated in gravitationally suspended pods that orbited through the pretzel-ed twists of the monumental track.

Though he started from the very back of the pack, Orion eventually rose through the ranks, masterfully controlling his craft as he effortlessly pulled it around turns in every which way, like a streamlined fish darting through the water without any resistance. By the end of the second lap, Orion was in a shared first place. Anxiety hung in the hearts of the billions of silent spectators as they watched the third lap unfold, each racer spiraling around the other as they followed the track, neither gaining any substantial ground on the other. Then the finish line drew near, the course flattened dramatically, and still, there was no clear winner. With the might of a god, Orion pushed his hovercraft to its absolute limit to pull just micrometers ahead of his opponent and slip over the finish line at the last second.

Ody, just a child watching with his father at home, erupted in cheers at his idol's victory that day. There had been nothing like that race in the history of the universe- as far as he was concerned- and he vowed then to find himself there, to know what it felt like to be the best at what he did. The images of the track, the speed of the hovercraft, and the exhilarated face of Orion were forever burned into his mind. After that day, Ody and his father watched every single live race they could find, visited local tracks in person, and rented out simulators with the little Coin they had. 'If you're serious about racing, then we'll make it happen, I promise' was what his father had said.

Ody now saw before him a tragic scene he could never forget. His father, rushing about the house, was tailed by Uncle Tobias. The two argued back and forth as the former shouted about something unfair, about needing to talk to his brother's boss, but Tobias wouldn't have it. The door caught as they exited the mobile home and, at the time, Ody thought nothing of it. Then came the phone call, his mother's extreme panic, and the frantic trip to the hospital, all in a jumbled mess in his memory. By the time they arrived, however, it was too late. A hovercar crash killed his father instantly and left Uncle Tobias in critical condition. There was nothing to be done but to sign the release forms and set up the funeral.

The mental image of that day used to make Ody queasy, but now he felt nothing but sharp pain in his heart, guilt, and longing. He remembered those same feelings flashing across the face of Uncle Tobias when he regained consciousness shortly after the accident and found himself paralyzed from the waist down. Ody's father had been in the driver's seat, and yet, Tobias made himself sick with grief over the accident every night, as if he had caused the crash. As soon as he was released from the hospital he moved into the mobile home Ody and his mother shared. Soon after that, Ody's mother was fortunate enough to win a job raffle for a position off-world, but she had no choice but to leave Ody and his Uncle on Earth.

Ody now sat up in his bed and looked at the stack of textbooks he kept piled on top of a rickety desk nearby. They were his father's, from his time spent teaching himself to be a mechanic, and Ody had memorized their contents in the years since. Those books were the ones that allowed him to construct his hovercar, identify valuable scrap, and follow his racing dreams. If it weren't for his father and mother, what would he do? Where would he be? Tears fell down Ody's face, streaming uncontrollably as he sobbed softly, balled up in his bed.