Ready Player None

Chapter 10.1 - Alex "Driving My Life Away"

10 miles, 30 miles, 5 miles, 20 miles, 40 miles, stop, 10 miles, 45 miles, 20 miles, done.

That's the trip. That's all we had to do. We had a state of the art Trak, a fully automated navigator, a pre-planned route, and two intelligent, resourceful passengers.

Kate was as happy as I'd ever seen her. She was in charge of supplies, and food, and water, and the Trak, and the monitoring the ahaptic to see when we dipped in and out of range of the nearest Community. I was in charge of not freaking out.

We would leave at the final darkening of twilight, travel all night, take cover during the one portion of full daylight that would make up the middle of our trip. By the end of the second night, we'd be at Community 1 safe and sound. Grovel to whomever needed groveling, pay any fine they gave, sort out the account problems, then resupply and travel back.

There really shouldn't be any problems.

"Brother mine, the cargo slots are packed and ready to go. The camo tent to cover the Trak is the first thing you'll see on your side, and the stuff farther in is mostly for emergencies. Not that we'll have any," she said quickly, looking at me for signs of panic. None here, nosirree. Satisfied, she continued, :I've got a travel bag for you in front of your seat. If you want to add any snacks from the pantry, now would be the time."

There was nothing here I wanted. I just wanted to get going, so we could get this over with. The inside of the Trak felt similar to a pod. Everything I touched while sitting seemed to adjust to my body, and the darkness was absolute. That would be a great way to think about this; it's just a pod, and we're just playing out a scenario.

No, Alex. No. Don't hide behind a false image. This is real.

10 miles, 30 miles, 5 miles, 20 miles, 40 miles, stop, 10 miles, 45 miles, 20 miles, done.

"Alex, you're officially the driver. Right now, as the driver, you've got one button to press to turn it on. Let's go," Kate said, as we sat in the vehicle that would be our home and protector. If I didn't press it, she'd toss me out and go by herself. That fact was primarily what led me to comply.

I pressed the one button I had been given.

I expected an engine to rumble to life, but pulse-fusion doesn't work that way. The screens that served as windows began showing a darkened version of our storage room, which then adjusted for the lighting and brightened artificially.

My button changed from 'Start Engine' to 'Begin Trip'. Kate raised the door that had been cleared by the delivery crew, and stepped aside. I pressed my button again.

The Trak began rolling slowly forward, with a motion unique to the engine type I would describe as like sitting on a walking horse, a sort of swaying forward and back, based on some simulations of the American West I had played. It wasn't unpleasant, but I did settle my head back into the seat support just to avoid any neck strain. We were going to be here a good long time, and comfort mattered a lot more than people thought. Once the Trak and I were out of the storage room, and surrounded by the sides of the earthen tunnel, Kate lowered the door, caught up to us with ease, and hopped into the seat on her side.

"Settle in, big brother. Everything's all locked up and safe, and we're on our way. I wonder if anyone in our Community will even notice we left," she said.

"Probably not, sis. We don't know if anyone else even lives here, so we're probably just as unknown to them," I replied.

The homes all looked like monstrous ant hills, with great mounds of reclaimed earth piled up to each roof line. Plastic threads could be seen woven through the soil, placed there for stability and water-resistance. The purpose was to aid in keeping each House at a reasonable temperature. Since the majority of electricity came from the rows of solar panels on each roof, trying to overpower Mother Nature with air conditioning was simply not an option, though some people had definitely tried. Those people weren't here, and we were. At least, up until a minute ago. Perhaps this isn't the best time to be touting my family's survival instinct.

Despite the plodding speed of the Trak, which was apparently navigating as though the evening streets were full of pedestrians and small children, it did not take very long to reach the single gate that allowed passage to and from the Community. The gate opened without anyone contacting us, or even showing they existed. Clearly, keeping people in was not the intent of this barrier.

We were Outside.

Kate was looking around as though we were at a museum, and every sight was an exhibit. I couldn't help but watch behind us, as the metal gate closed behind us in a final reminder about where we had chosen to go.

10 miles, 30 miles, 5 miles, 20 miles, 40 miles, stop, 10 miles, 45 miles, 20 miles, done.