Sunday April 2nd, 2094
Post-Race
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
The Promised Party, A collab with @Enzayne She could have used Zygon´s funds for this - but following the results of the latest race, doing it on her own (her uncle´s) dime turned out to be a manoeuvre of great prescience. No doubt the accountants back at headquarters would find a way to complain about throwing anything after the race otherwise. They did like to whine over every won. No. Paying for it herself was the correct choice. That meant no Zygon goons stood over her shoulder trying to correct her, no analysis cutting the evening short. She could spend it all destressing.
She had sent a mysterious message in the collective group chat for drivers. Implying that she´d make good on her promise, and an address. The address led here: a local nightclub in the Shibuya district that Hyeon-Ae had leased the entire VIP section of, and paid for a healthy supply of drinks to be brought up to people´s specifications. To a limit, anyway. Further, she´d taken the time to use both her name and Zygon´s to invite a couple handful of celebrities who were all too keen to rub shoulders with drivers in a more informal capacity. A few others as well, friends of friends and people from the club below who looked hot. And Cassie of course, who dusted off her disappointment to live the high-life for an evening.
In truth, Hyeon-Ae had never hosted an event that fell in the afterwork category. Knowing the background of other pilots, she hoped this was enough. For her own sake, she parked herself on a big couch and tried to inspire others to talk. She wasn't much in the mood to celebrate, but people-watching? That was always interesting.
And with a bit of nightlife, Cassie had dragged herself on, in spite of the fact. Celebrities, from the snowboarding, two-time X-Games winning champion that was Merlin Potter, to other J-Pop and K-Pop celebrities were in attendance, the vibes absolutely living it down. And well, it was nice to mingle, holding a glass of champagne, in the midst of it, Max, Ulrich, Harrison, Vlad, Jenny and perhaps a few others were about here too. A place to be, but the noise was just one that felt like an echo of earlier that evening. Debriefs had gone on for a while. Analysis. And so going out felt more like a marketing chore, than it did a release.
Cassie came across to Hyeon-Ae, seeing her out of the way, people watching, that was, watching people rather than herself being watched. The vibe was of course, succinct, and Cassie was enjoying this whole thing, but still, had to admit, it was strange to have a party after not performing so well.
Crashing down on the sofa next to her, Cassie looked over to her Korean team-mate, a certain thought in her mind that was pointed, not open.
“Do you ever switch off?”
Hyeon-Ae popped open a small drink bottle - non-alcoholic for the sharp-eyed. Perhaps she didn't enjoy the buzz. She looked Cassie's way, lifting the bottle to her lips with a pause that was half drinking in the vibe, half power move.
”I don't follow,” she lied with a placid smirk.
”Isn't this…” ”…‘off’ already?”Cassie laughed, shaking her head, looking into the crowd, sighing with that, looking back.
“Well, you seem like you want to always assess….always take in the situation. Who’s here, who is doing what. Relax. And while booze isn’t your thing, it’s not like there’s shareholders in that crowd. Just all of Hyeon-Ae Han, you, the individual, get to show off. Maybe a little bit of Zygon, but all you, Han..” Cassie remarked back, sipping down more champagne, the inverse perhaps of Friday night’s little sponsor event for her, but well, no less a charm. Wearing a pair of jogging bottoms and a stylish crimson red Zygon shirt that went with her hair, it seemed like more casual, rather than formal appearance at to the party, as she brushed it aside, sitting up.
“Thank you for standing up for me in that meeting before the race. I know what they’ll say, and they’ll try and give you serious shite for it after today. But, it’s the right thing. It’ll come good. Maybe not here, but it will. Glad you trust me.” Cassie added, smiling, sipping a bit more in.
To say Hyeon-Ae was caught off-guard by Cassie's comments would be off-base, but she still lost a little gleam in her previously self-serving expression of elegant arrogance. That too was a shield after all, and whether it was the appeal to the individual or the open gratitude, the Korean pilot set her little bottle down and followed it up by rubbing at the back of her neck.
”Well. Like I said. I don't like to lose. You didn't get here by being bad at what you do. And I agreed with you, for what it's worth. I've just-... I play their game, yes? The master never blames the dog who is obedient when he's looking.” Hyeon-Ae shrugged lightly. Her gaze briefly darted away to pay attention to Ulrich and Max learning extremely basic moves from a K-pop C-lister.
”I don't think relaxing is something I've ever done.” she murmured, barely above the din in the club.
Cassie paid her mind, seeing her being a little uncertain, though asking away, perhaps her political reflection going at it as Cassie had seen before. Maybe others saw it, they mostly didn’t, but Cassie was close to Han, and as a team-mate, was directly compared. She wasn’t entirely sure of course, about if Han would be in the seat before the season- she was of course, promised one kind of project after Valkyrie, and her falling out with Dorian and her want to take a lead in a team meant here she was. And whilst there were some regrets, there was no doubt if this team got their shit together, they’d be serious. That Cassie understood, but shit, Han was the only way she was getting there.
And yet Han was almost like an android, almost more so than some Koreans she’d worked with. Manicured, perfect, quite literally, as if someone had taken a mould of plastic and carved it with Michalengelo’s fine pick, and she seemed to know how to play it. Yet there was this lack of something inside. Even Cassie could see it, the fiery, Portuguese hearted, Scottish minded pilot brushing her curly hair aside, reflecting on her last words.
“I recommend it. You’re far too serious, Han. Like….I get it. You have to play politics. But you don’t have to, Han. I’m pissed off, to no end. I wish I had words to describe how I felt. It’s disgraceful. And here we are. Partying. It leaves a hollow inside of you, that feeling. Making mistakes. Or that you aren’t where you want to be.” Cassie said, sighing, sipping more down, showing off a different side. A side in reflection. A side that almost seemed unsure about what entirely to say, by intent.
“Yet it’s human, I suppose. I just….I don’t know how you do it sometimes, even if you don’t like the feeling. But that’s why we race, I suppose. It’s human to feel fear, anger, emotions. A machine feels nothing. But that’s what makes us who we are. Good or bad.” Cassie remarked and started, perhaps deeper than she’d usually be, but still reflecting it back with a sip interrupting it.
“So just don’t forget that humanity in you. I heard some stories, but I don’t care for it that much. The bosses at the team want marketing, they want perfection, and you are that. And if it makes you feel withdrawn, then so be it. But don’t forget you’re free to make your own choices, too. You don’t have to worry about who’s going to stab you in the back when you just get out there and make a name they can’t forget. I suppose that maybe works for some better than others!” She joked, although half serious in her approach.
Hyeon-Ae had been listening, an idle fidget as Cassie launched further into her spiel about being herself. She looked unsettled, or perhaps anxious, although she painted it over pretty well for someone apparently deep in thought. Her full attention was on Cassie by the time the mixed-nationality pilot finished.
”Don’t misunderstand, Cassie ssi. I'm upset about today. Of course I am. But I promised in public to host something in Tokyo, so I'm living up to those expectations. I was… raised to care about my image. Would I rather be on a plane home? Yes. But this is for me, not for Zygon. Or my image at least.” she remarked back with a little bit of tension in her voice. Then she frowned briefly as she added.
”...and I just remembered I am meeting Paul tomorrow, so I couldn't leave if I wanted. I am not doing so great on your list of relaxing, hm?” Hyeon-Ae commented with a brief chuckle and reached back for her bottle.
Cassie giggled, shrugging her shoulders, looking into the club, then back to Han, watching her sip away, and remind herself of her busy schedule.
“Well, we all have our brands. Don’t blame you. But yeah. You could do better to chill. But….why do you think I’m relaxing here, eh?” Cassie retorted, sipping away, a smirk forming, masking the sigh that she wanted to make. She was not happy. After all, she had nothing to show for the race, apart from take it on the chin, and move on.
“Not like the flight from here is crazy after anyway, I suppose. And his will be. Jeez, Paul is gonna be in for a lot more mileage….” Cassie chuckled, sitting up in the sofa, finishing her glass, knowing Han was doing a good job of masking, but well, it was that image. That version of self. She knew it all too well. Perhaps here, in this very moment, she was seeing her own, albeit then the mirror to that as well. Reaching across the table, Cassie took the bottle of champagne that sat on the collective table, and poured another glass, then with the spare glass adjacent to Han, poured a little in.
“So….yeah, today was shit. Not exactly like we went forward. Bad setup, the ship should have at least gotten halfway. Question is, now what do we do? I mean, all the facilities….and it just feels like what I was sold to me, totally honest with you now Han, it didn’t work. I just don’t know what to think. The team’s not receptive, and especially when I was brought in as a bit of disruption. It should be way better than it is.” Cassie was more blunt, passing the newly poured glass of Dom Perignon across to Han, with an unspoken tone.
It took a few moments, with a bit of a suspect peer at Cassie, before Hyeon-Ae deigned to accept the glass. But she took it.
”Yes,” she responded mirthlessly, offering neither rebuke nor a way to soften the truth. A few moments of hesitation followed, the Korean woman looking down into the glass of wine and swirling it around a little with a tilt of her hand. In the end, she appeared to open a chink in her armour by offering up something from her world.
”I’ve been picking out people that I can rely on in the company - and the team. I've been playing cards to nudge them, but I'm starting to worry it's not enough. And Jinwoo …” she drew in a breath long and slow, leaving the sigh that followed merely implied.
”It’s not how I imagined it would be. But I did not sign on to be happy with mediocrity.”The truth melting out brought a smirk to Cassie’s face, as she sipped away, listening, within herself feeling the melt come to Han’s ice slowly but surely. She was happy to see her on the same side, worried beforehand that Han was just an extension of them, well, the collective corp that seemed to make up all of Zygon. She was analytical, but of some sort of principle, at least, which made it easy to be honest.
“Neither did I. Worsens whatever stock we have here, or anywhere else. I mean, word to the wise, teams aren’t for life. What Zygon gives you today, it may not tomorrow. Much as you may be their poster girl right now, look at Amy. She was once….then again, that’s life.” The comment felt like it was spicy, but well, a stark, if not barbed point at a certain someone else rather than Han, something she quickly chased before giving the wrong opinion.
“You seem better at it than I am. For what it’s worth, I’ll give them analytics, but all I know is with these facilities, with this setup, it should be more. Perhaps there’s no breakthrough, but….if they get it together. I don’t know. I’ll just race and try not to piss anyone off. I don’t get how you do it, Han. Korea’s just this….collective, homogenous thing. You don’t get to show off individualism. Punk. That…I don’t know.” Perhaps Cassie was inviting something towards herself with that comment, realizing that she probably wasn’t painting the best image she had. But then again, being fiery, and in some ways, that friendship with Harrison revealed that side to her. She was unafraid of saying what she thought, and backing it up on the track, often.
“I know what they probably said in the media about me and Dorian, and you probably heard about it too. I mean, I thought about it looks. But look at him now with Paul. He wants to win, and he just didn’t mesh with my ideas, . They’ll say it’s the same here and I don’t want that to be the story….but, what choice do I have. You want to step up to be like Harrison, Amy, Nora, Kais now, I guess it takes something extra. Going against mould.” Cassie replied, looking to Han, reaching her glass across, ready to clink.
“Cheers to that?”
Hyeon-Ae listened with earnest interest, offering a small smirk of her own as Cassie took a turn from opening up and inviting condescension - which Hyeon-Ae did not take - and move onwards to speculate on the nature of ambition. Or that is how she interpreted it at the very least; that was interesting to her. She clinked glasses with Cassie without hesitation.
”You should meet my friends back in Korea.” she shot back imperiously. The relaxing navelgazing was over - something Cassie said had started wheels turning in the Korean's head.
“It’d be a pleasure.” Cassie smiled back, sipping back, looking to the club, the crowds filling, and the sight of pilots in the midst, as well as celebrities out and about.
“It’s been a shit day. But, may as well make the most of this. If you promised them something, time we go and make the most of it rather than staring. You in?” Cassie was pushing Han now, a glimmer in her synthetic eyes, her prosthetic as if bringing a hand out to her.
Hyeon-Ae gave her a good-natured look of consternation, eyeing the crowd milling about. With a sharp breath she drained the glass and set it down.
”I paid for it, I suppose it's only right I participate.” she declared with feigned resignation, moving to stand at Cassie's insistence.
”Let's do it.”Soundtrack: Plan B- Stay Too Long (Pendulum Remix)
Valkyrie AGR Sport Headquarters
Monday April 8, 2024
Aachen, Germany
Valkyrie Sport AG Racing
Aachen's streets grew greener and greener as the late winter rolled out into spring. Beerhalls actually opened up with benches outside. And not serving craft or strange beer- but actual, genuine German larger, wheat beer and the kind that felt like bread made into liquid form. And of course, Valkyrie's own, from a local brewery that had now taken on not just Valkyrie's brew, but another they'd devised. Mulder Witbier was a popular seller, a Belgian-like beer that had an aroma of orange and juniper, making it stick out from most. After all, Aachen sat at the apex of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, sitting at Charlemagne's corner of western Europe.
The beer was overshadowed however, in Valkyrie's high tech facilities, by the presence of one Johanna Lipusz. The EU Special Representative for Anti-Gravity Research, a non-elected, high up civil servant within the European Union's mechanism. A former MEP, and former engineer, now she was in a very, very high up position, and getting her facility tour in. After all, when the European Union pumped public money into companies, and then special purpose ventures like Valkyrie, that were amalgamations of previous firms, they needed their accountability. Their leash, and while Leopold did that day to day, sometimes, she needed to come by. The blonde-haired, 50-something, gray suited bureaucrat was not perhaps built like a pilot, but she seemed to have that aura behind her of experience.
Johanna looked around through the facility window, seeing Alexander come by.
"Alexander. A pleasure. I'm Johanna Lipusz, Leopold's report. I don't think we have been introduced yet." Johanna's voice carried an almost regal weight to it, making introductions and small talk. Johanna was a bit of a kingmaker, after all. A coffee, some biscuits and light chat, and with that, the start of a more formal tour, as they walked through the non-sterile bits of the factory, Johanna taking on overalls as would anyone going into the sensitive areas. Why was it sterile? Well, working with incredibly sensitive, high margin equipment meant a high degree of security to ensure that no chemicals or contamination affected their surfaces, so tight were the tolerances. That, and the robots really didn't like dirt or dust when working on precision applications, the some bipedal Boston Robotics great-great grandson like carriers that did bolts and tooling, some quadped wheeled units that carried tools that were lovingly referred to as "Pups", quite literally didn't like that dust either.
Alexander shook the woman’s hand as he joined her on her tour of the factory. He decided to remain silent and be pleasant and listen. She would reveal what she wanted too without any prompting from him. He had a feeling her visit had a purpose to it. He had been expecting something after their poor showing in Tokyo. He also wondered if it had anything to do with a few of the engineers leaving after the Tokyo race. He knew Felix was concerned and just as frustrated as he was that their team was not performing better.
Johanna made conversation with him, but at the crux of it, came to her thoughts.
"I do not know how to run a race-team. So I won’t pretend I know better. But, I heard good things about you from Leopold, beyond the results, you two work well together. Which means you must know what you're doing. He's a good operator. But, I like to get hands on sometimes myself too, so hence why I thought to visit. Get rid of the interference like you do, just to verify certain things for myself, and also, make sure I could introduce myself." Johanna commented, looking across, into the glass window that peered into the next lab-like environment where the chassis of the ship was.
"I will tell you now, however, there are requirements that are expected of the team, considering the investment. You have executive control over what this team does. But ultimately, this entire endeavor is not a participation trophy." She looked over, looking at the ship itself, then looking back to Alexander.
"The ship's data, and what you've been working on so far suggests the ship should be optimized from Monaco onwards, and you will be able to get podiums, and wins. No arguments. Your predecessor did not succeed because he did not work with the staff, the pilots, and worse, he did not work with Leopold. But if he doubled down on a handling focussed design, then we have to finish what was started, and the rest will follow after once you have your own ambitions. But our trust in you is that you'll put us back on the top step when that matters. Back to winning ways." Johanna added, walking over to the other window, looking into another section of the factory.
Alexander had not necessarily been expecting Miss Lipusz but he was not surprised completely. He had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He tried hard not to show how frustrated he felt. He felt like he had swallowed a bug. He hoped he managed to keep the sour look off his face. He did his best to carefully school his face and voice to neutral.
Alexander: “Miss Lipusz I do understand your message. Winning is our goal. Please understand that I inherited what was already a craft set up for mediocrity. That is why I am pushing for a new design and working hard to get the funds to make that happen. Our strategy in the meantime has been to optimize the craft for each race. Our focus has been on improving speed and ELS which is where our craft is weak. We have not been successful yet in finding the winning combination but we are hopeful to see results soon.”
"I understand. And I understand you have more work to do here. You know, they say innovation comes the most during warfare. With no war, racing is the closest we have to fighting. And this whole enterprise, it represents the interest, the passion of an entire continent of people. Every boy, girl, dreams of being in there, and specifically," She said, pointing at the suit and helmet on the wall.
"They dream of being dressed in one of those. We are not just in the business of developing ships. We are in the business of making sure dreamers see a reality in front of them. And our own teams need a reason to be convinced, the people that live in our countries. Leopold I think, forgets to mention that because he's so focussed on business. I don't forget we are more than numbers. Money invested is money put into dreams, but to do that, we need to prove they’re real.” Johanna's statement felt bold, and for a politician, she seemed almost tangibly able to steer past all the noise and just give a firm signal.
Alexander nodded to where she was pointing. “Well my work with the sponsors and being in the media can only help raise awareness for those who aspire to be here. Right?” Alexander was hoping to garner any goodwill he can from this ambush by the prickly woman. He could feel the cold sweat running down his back. He didn’t like threats. He hated that he felt threatened by the woman but he was not stupid enough to believe that she didn’t have the power to threaten him in a more immediate way. Alexander understood that he was being told that winning was expected and being demanded of him. As if he was not doing his best to make that happen already. He was not willing to push unwanted or untested augmentations on the pilots. He didn’t see how augmentations could help since the ship was the issue. He knew he needed to get more speed out of the existing ships and better ELS. He sighed in frustration. He needed to keep his temper.
“Taking time for pilots to show off luxury goods is one thing. The numbers look good, and you’ll still need to keep working with a few more sponsors, as we really lost out there last year. But, I’m not talking about that. When it all comes down to it, people talk of winners, and losers. We have targets for a reason. As I am very sure you understand. This isn’t me going around Leopold either, he can tell you all of this. I think it’s just sometimes important to just remember what our mission is..” Johanna’s response cut fine back, not interested perhaps in a threat, but more as if she could
Turning around before finishing the visit, out of the overalls now after going through a decontamination chamber and a clean changing room on the other side, Johanna left with a final parting comment.
"Oh, and Alexander? Your marketing efforts are good. But be careful with your daughter. You did what any mother would do to help her out. But my thoughts are, do not let her get consumed by this mess of media. I deal with enough politicians day to day. Once her treatment is complete, you can let her have some normalcy. EU law is very particular about a right to be forgotten. And our privacy too. Not that the Federated Union knows much on that matter....but if you want her to keep out of affairs, that is an option. Our solicitors will arrange that. But just thought of mentioning it." Johanna added, as they headed towards the exit. Putting a hand out, Johanna looked up to the Estonian, a little more confident after their visit. But no less expectant.
“Bring us home some results, Mr Knight. Thank you for the tour. I’ll see you when you’re in Monaco.”
Alexander was left confused, frustrated, and feeling decidedly uneasy. Why did she bring up his daughter? It was not his decision to put her in the media spotlight to begin with. He had only held the press conferences to reduce the amount of media attention she had been receiving. Was the offer of help a veiled demand that Arianna should be kept out of the media altogether or silenced? Or was it a genuine offer to help her regain her anonymity and life? Alexander snapped himself out of his spiraling thoughts as she offered her hand for him to shake. He took her hand and shook it gently, giving a bow over her hand. He took a deep breath and gave her what he hoped was a confident look.
Alexander: “I am glad you enjoyed the tour. I hope you saw what you expected to see. We have made some necessary changes but I feel they have been beneficial. I have nothing to hide from you. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lipusz. I will do my best to meet your expectations. I will be there.”
“Things work better when we’re all honest. And I expect you will meet them. You have the ship and engineers to do it, after all.. All the best to you, Alexander.” Johanna replied, a smile cracking in return, as with it, she left the building via the security cordon, and with it, was scooped away from a waiting anti-gravity craft outside.
Alexander watched Miss Lipusz leave the building. He immediately dialed Leopold to see if he was available. He wanted to know if Leopold had been aware of the woman’s visit. Alexander had been notified by security. He knew from her title and position that she was important. He was surprised that the European Union didn’t use one of the board members instead for their intervention talk. He guess having someone outside the board that he was accountable to was the point. It was not like he could change the facts for them. She had wanted him to focus on handling. Their craft was already good at handling. If they wanted to win more races they needed to improve the areas they were deficient in without decreasing the effectiveness of other areas. Alexander waited as the call tried to connect.
The call connected and Leopold looked slightly annoyed as he answered.
Leopold: “Alexander? What new challenge do you have for me today?
Alexander: “Well I was just visited by one Johanna Lipusz, the EU Special Representative for Anti-Gravity Research. Did you know she was dropping in for a surprise factory tour and visit?
Leopold looked worried and startled by the name and title. Which told Alexander that Leopold had not known about the woman’s visit.
Leopold: “No. I am assuming that you accommodated her. What did she want?”
Alexander gave Leopold a frustrated look.
Alexander: “What do you think she wanted Leopold? She is demanding wins. She hinted heavily that I should follow in Rossi's footsteps and focus on handling. You also know I firmly disagree and feel like that will not be as big a help as we would like it to be. I still firmly believe that we need to improve the ship's speed and ELS if we want to be competitive. I couldn’t help but notice the timing of her visit as well. We just lost another mechanic. We did poorly in Tokyo. I want you to support my efforts to fast track hiring some new engineers. I think we need new ideas if we want to make any headway for Monaco.”
Leopold looked like he had been hit between the eyes. He sighed, shaking his head.
Leopold: “She as much as gave you orders for a win. She has the power to make life difficult for us both Alexander. Do you really believe new engineers will help the situation?”
Alexander: “Yeah I do. I think we need fresh ideas and perspective on the issue. That means new people. Our current engineers are great, but they have been staring at the same ship and data for over a season. I think fresh eyes will help. Besides, we need more engineers to begin working on development for the new craft as well. I am hoping I can get my top three candidates to at least do a consultation visit with Felix tomorrow if I can swing it. What do you think?” Can I put out the offer?”
Leopold looked thoughtful and then nodded. “Instead of offering them the jobs, ask them to come to headquarters for a skills demonstration. Tell them we will pay all the expenses for the trip. Let them know they are auditioning for the jobs. Let’s see what they come up with. I think a practical demonstration of skills in this instance is a great idea.”
Alexander nodded and smiled. “I like it. I will make the calls. Thanks Leopold.” Alexander hung up, not giving Leopold time to say anything more. He ran back to his office calling for Mabel as he headed straight for his desk. He explained the plan to Mabel and together they made plans to see about getting their candidates in as soon as possible for their demonstrations. After making the calls, it was arranged to bring them all in the following morning. He left Mabel to arrange for fast shuttle flights for everyone. Then he went to fill in Felix and Helga. Alexander felt excited and hopeful again. Miss Lipusz had left him with a dreadful feeling. Having a path forward had helped to dispel that.
Silverstone, United Kingdom
Silver Apex HQ
Simon sat up in the chair, Delta Hyper's camera here to interview him with Aurora on the other side of the interview.
What was weird about Simon was, that if you looked at Silver Apex with a lot of dislike, there was one strange thing you'd still like about the pensive, middle aged man, with dark hair that was well kept, and a look of almost consideration on him. Simon was an incredibly, if not exceptionally clever engineer- if Felix reflected a wisdom of designing ships like an art form, then Simon was the other side- industrial, clean design that was all function, not form. A legend in the game, and someone that was integral to Silver Apex's success.
"Hello, I'm Simon Calder, with Silver Apex. Chief Designer and author of "The Art of AG Design". Yes, the label of the e-book is designed with a little ferrofluid so quite literally, you cannot put the book down!" Simon joked, adjusting his seating position a little, a smile on his face, the classic marketing. He'd gone from glasses to none thanks to some new eyes, the small implants on him visible, subtle yet a trickle down from the Silver Apex team that he was within.
"What's your proudest achievement? Outside of that clever label?"
"Wow....that is a hard one. I mean, my two children, I think above all else. But, creating six years of winning cars, that's nearly like the Kastrup Installation, in the mid-Atlantic, that works to keep the Gulf Stream going! It's really, really hard! Or, that's definitely competing with the work we did to build anti-grav rovers on Europa..."
"What was it like, working with the ESA and Al-Maktoum Orbital on that one?"
"Honestly, incredible. I could go on about it, how we had to get creatively design ships and orbital platforms to get astronauts across a frozen ocean....anyway, yeah, I've had a really diverse career."
"And what is it about designing ships you enjoy?"
"It's about finding marginal gains. Ships are ultimately, understood, and AI, CFD and our wind tunnels have done most of it. So, you have to think through from a different perspective. Your competition will always gain on you, so the question is, what do your pilots want that'll make them take the last tenth of a second? Take Amy, for example. She loves a really sharp, planted front end, twitchy to some, but, it means she's a menace on corner entry and exit and it makes the ship handle a little better than Valkyrie's in the right hands."
"Is that sometimes to the detriment of the other pilot, do you think?"
"I wouldn't think so. It's a hard design to adapt to, but if it's proven to work, then maybe it's the other way around. I'll design something the best can tame, and the pilots will find once they get it, it's unbeatable. Of course, I listen to what they say, adjust it, but at the end of the day, one is a multi-year winning champion, the other is still learning. I leave the rest to Peter to make that happen. I just make really good ships. And my design consultancy does plenty more."
"What else do you think Anti-Gravity racing could benefit from?"
"Well....weapons systems are definitely something future rulesets are looking at, and well, I'd have a lot of ideas for that. But I think more races on other bodies in our Solar System, that would be incredible. We know Earth's gravity. And we were all shocked by learning Luna's three years ago. But there's infinite potential for a Martian race, or a race on Titan. Perhaps even an asteroid? Who knows."
"Something rather ambitious, don't you think?"
"We've solved a lot of problems. Why not do something even more ambitious?"
Christchurch, New Zealand,
Southern Cross HQ
Harrison sat inside the simulator, already running through Italy. The circuit was an incredible one, even in the sim. It felt like a road racing circuit, the tarmac covered in snow, with MAG tracking peeling the ship up impossibly steep mountains, literally up the walls in some cases. It was just insane how much work had gone into the circuit, vast stretches of straight broken up with tiny bends and enormous amounts of undulation. The sensors on the ship were critical to keeping pace with the hybrid of MAG-enabled tracking that stopped the ship flying into oblivion, apart from one section at Forcella Pordoi, and the tunnel section on Passo Fedaia, along with the genuinely breathtaking approach up Marmolada glacier made the circuit even more spectacular.
Endless white snow, the frozen lake at Lago Fedaia, the ridge-run with the towering mountains all around, the ridiculously quick uphill and downhill sector through Forcella Pordoi, that then frankly fell off a cliff with a sheer drop that then went back up, and there was zero stopping, aside from the tight hairpins that were on Passo Fedaia's approaches, or the sector north of Canazei west of Passo Pordoi. That was what made it one of the best circuits of the year. It was like someone went on Google Maps, went and drew out a circuit hitting the most major mountains and ridges in the central Dolomites, and had sown them together.
It meant the track had to climb almost thousands of meters per lap, and descend the same, with the width changeable, and the snow underlaying the circuit and the icy frost contrasted with the only meadow green sector at the base of Marmolada proper. The circuit wasn't just flat out all the time- it felt like it was high speed almost all of the time though, and mistakes were incredibly punishing when at that limit. Not like it was just a long straight, but sometimes, as if you had to be hyper-reactive on a road that was barely one AG craft wide, that widened out on climbs and specially enlarged sections. Then the tunnel. Holy shit. The ships frankly roared through those, and emerged into bright white snow, and it was incredible. A nearly 45km circuit, but, given most of it was flat out at 500kph plus, it became like running a fighter jet through it. The hairpins and tricky bends could catch pilots out easy, and required one that was not just a speed demon, but actually able to make the most out of the corners.
They called it the Italian AGP round, but really, everyone knew it as "Strada Alpina". The Alpine Road.
Sector One.
Starting another lap, the ship twitched nicely, the reduced resolution not reflecting actual conditions around the circuit but increasing the latency to the ship's speed and feel, something that was nearly impossible to compute perfectly, but visually, came to almost an identical feel. The WW1 trenches built into the mountain outside the 2nd cable car stop were a blur with the hairpin, that then followed into a long curving turn that frankly dived directly towards ground at a straight cliff, following a narrow ridge over snowy, MAG-strip covered sectors, before coming out to a long left hander that just was full throttle, all of the way down to the valley floor, a green alpine meadow that was glorious, but the only part of the circuit in greenery. That was, until the first climb section. A left, right, and a ridiculous number of hairpins that reduced the ship to a crawl with full tilt levels of turning, no banking put in deliberately to slow ships down, and to add some technical variety, the ship roaring through the sector, climbing up the mountain pass, before entirely giving up and at a cable car stop, switching to a massively steep MAG section that was full flat. And Harrison's favourite sector was coming up now.
At the top of a near 1000m climb, a long left hander which then hit a ridgeline, and to the left, the Marmolada glacier, and mountain, and the most surreal mountain view ever contrasted with Piz Boe to the right, on a ridgeline only a track wide, with small curves, kinks and approaches just making it the most unreal fast section, and one that rewarded ships for speed, and a little of their aero and ability to keep full throttle no matter what, the ship bouncing off an internal limiter to stop it accelerating through the sound barrier which, well, would have easily been done. A right turn past Rifugio Sass Bece and a hard turn down a groomed ski slope, followed with another mountain road, all covered in snow, medium speed corners giving way to slower, then the hard 90 degree that basically, went straight up to Rifugio Forcella Pordoi, the verticality not stopping how fast the ship was going, the Gs that were induced by literally feeling like you were climbing a mountain in a ship, rather than a road- going from 24000m to nearly 3000m in nearly thirty seconds. It was mind-bending, and without MAG tracking, it would be tricky, but the ships glued their way up, before the saddle arrived, and the ships could go full throttle over it, racing past a beautiful mountain hotel, before coming IMMEDIATELY down Even with MAG tracking, ships were often being thrown a good 50 to 100 feet skybound, literally into abyss with the greatest ramp conceived by humanity made out of literal mountain.
If you were a photographer, this would be the place you'd want to be. Nothing beat what looked like a ship literally flying into a massive valley, covered in snow, and then coming back down, hitting the circuit's MAG tracking and in turn, requiring a special damping for the pilots.
Sector Two.
Pitching, and knowing how to direct the ship to land back on MAG tracking then the usual glass and steel was critical here, given there was a long, long hairpin, with no banking, yet still completely flat and a long decent, back down that then came to a medium-speed section, through a dense forest and river with big banking literally turning the circuit sideways through there, before rejoining a road, a couple of switchbacks then following up by a sector on another groomed slope, outside of the main circuit, but this time, going upwards. It was under and between cable cars, and a very long straight, before a sharp 90 degree turn at a ridgeline brought pilost back to reality, and a long turn then wove back down a slope, all flat again, heading towards another dense forest section. Once again, the track thinned and here the pace slowed, made up through tight chicane-like bends, before getting back on road, hitting two more switchbacks climbing up to Passo Fedia.
Sector Three.
And what a sector. Passo Fedaia was a perfect, perfect alpine road, but avalanche protection that covered the roof then gave way to a long tunnel, where the AG craft roared, the acoustics not like Japan, more like a megaphone for the scream of the ships, before emerging out to the frozen lake, staying on the road, the speed relentless with a few corners to brake for, but almost all flat out. And the glacier to the right. That was until a hard right, that took the track over a large dam at the end of the large artificial lake, all covered in ice, and a hard right then leading to a long section of lefts, rights, and weaving up from just snow and forest to rock and glacier, the course actually carving through a broken section of the glacier, physically inside.
A section that revealed gigantic walls of blue ice, with MAG tracking physically sticking the ships to the walls, and peeling the ships upward through the crevasse, and then up onto the surface, through a massive straight that lead to an off-camber hairpin on MAG banking, before leading to another enormous long left hander that went back down, and over the glacier's crevassed surfaces, pulling onto a ridgeline. And roaring past Terazza Marmolada, the very roof of the Dolomites, on track that was laid specially and bolted to the mountainside, physically looking impossible, yet the very top revealing a beautiful section for overtakes, right as the start finish were visible.
Hard exhale.
Harrison let the ship slow, and with it, took a moment to take it in.
Pulling out of it, Harrison grabbed his reusable cup, filling it with water from a nearby tap, looking across to Nora, also sharing a break.
"You feeling good for this? It's a difficult circuit to learn, no amount of neural training will truly prepare you, but, trust me. I adore it. Genuinely the most amount of fun you're ever gonna have in an AG ship." Harrison seemed pensive, but well, he had to be. There was a lot on the line. P1. And they were going to have to take it. He knew Nora was perhaps not as used to long, long tracks like these with this much undulation, but, if she could fly fast and handle well, she'd hold her own.
"I gotta admit though, I hope we break the duck here. Silver Apex feels so close in reach. And we should dominate this. But, I gotta say. We have a lot to prove."
Buenos Aires, Argentina
El Rancho del Sud, Carrera Condor HQ
Ava was herself, pushing on the bike, running through Chile, home. Bio Bio, to be specific. The rainforest like mountains, and the environment was exactly as she remembered it to be. Not what it was now.
Pulling herself away from the sim, she exhaled hard, clambering away, sweeping her leg over, the sight of Rey coming through, working with the Physio team on numbers.
"VO2 numbers are still impressive, Ava. For your age, you are doing well." Rey's commentary was from the glass tablet he held, Ava cracking a rare smile, make a brutal comeback with.
"Rude. But thank you anyway. Fuck you being nice." Ava said, as barbed and with as husky a voice as she could, before she cracked into laughter and he returned the favour realising she wasn't taking it too personally, a smile forming, knowing she just got Rey with that, as she walked towards the window looking out on the Pampas, walking outside into the overcast afternoon.
"Another great afternoon. Sigh. Where's Bea?" Ava asked, with Rey shrugging his shoulder, as they walked through the hyper-modern walkway, heading away from the older historic buildings towards the modern core, including the medical area.
"We're just trying to figure that out. Ready for your appointment?" Rey asked, as Ava turned the corner, the two aware of the next visit to make. Some adjustments for Italy meant a few changes to her augments and her implants, and well, that was like any other visit to any other doctor ever felt like in history.
"I love having someone poke around in my head. Sure." Ava never enjoyed it, but still, it was another happy necessity that followed up.
And that session with Ivan quickly followed, with her neurally plugged in, and on a masseurs-like table, lying face down, staring into a couple of lights below the padded halo for her face, like she was about to get a massage. It wasn't so much programming, as it was just updates to the link that her, and her ship had.
Given how close it was, for Ava, almost closer than some relationships she'd had, small tweaks and changes to the surfaces reflected in the ship, such as the handling and ELS upgrade, were now going to affect how it felt. That then affected the pilot mods, and well, whilst not a major overhaul, such as an entirely new prosthetic, neural mod or another mod to her insides, it was strange. With every poke, Ivan asked for a response, checking her eyes were still doing what they should, and that nothing untoward was happening. A reset point always existed to pull her out, but right now, Ivan was quite literally running new software into her brain, and overlaying what had happened before.
It was a slow, gentle process, and checking her hands, her toes, her prosthetics and her internals was key to making it not fuck something else up. Like patching a computer, except, it seemed to meld her closer to her ship, and the handling upgrade, as did the ELS upgrade, needed her to be with it too.
Sometimes it felt like someone had shoved a needle in her subconscious, and then, it phased out. Gently, the anaesthetic began to kick in, for the next phase, Ivan clipping it into her wrist, and almost like that, Ava was out. The last part required her to be unconscious. And even Ava succumbed fast enough.
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