Special Rally Stage: The Train

“So this is a train, huh?” Rædis said to Traveler as they shot along a magnetic rail at just under the speed of sound. He had never been on one before nor ever had the desire to.

“Yup.” Traveler said staring. He was stoned right out of the four dimensions of his mind and was looking out of a huge window in the observation car they were sitting in. Before him moved a canyon so vast and deep no wheeled vehicle could ever successfully traverse it. It was so wide that even at their relatively impressive pace the terrain seemed to slide by at a viscous, dismal rate.

“And you just...sit here and it takes you to where it says it’s going to?” Rædis was being sarcastic and obtuse because he hated this whole idea of a ‘public transportation’ stage to the rally they were currently running in. But, the organizers had reckoned reaching a point in a certain amount of time at a predetermined average speed would be interesting and profitable if a train were involved. Because it ran the exact route everytime at a consistent speed it came down to the racers to navigate the whole process of boarding and catching the train on time. This is undesirable under the best conditions and an infuriating hell when things invariably go awry.

What really irked Rædis though was surrendering complete control of a large and complex machine, moving at perilous speed, over deadly terrain, to people he did not know and systems he was ignorant of.

Rædis, normally a paragon of machine-like patience and irritating stoicism, was pacing along the windows of the car running his fingers along the contours of the transparent metallic construction. He was feeling and listening for the slightest changes in the train’s behavior. Its velocity, and how it moves along its magnetic rail, not actually touching anything. He listened to the pitch of the motors and monitored the magnetic field that propelled them along.

When his path brought him back to Traveler’s table he sat down.

“During that last sweeping bend we held a steady speed while the motors kicked out half another kilowatt each. But not all the motors. And at unsteady intervals. What’s up with that?” he said, placing his palms on the table top, then actually lowering his head to press his ear against it.

“The engine oscillations have changed to 429 kilocycles and our magnetic adhesion to the rail is just barely in the optimal range of teslas.” he said with his head down on the table.

“At least there’s a free buffet for racers.” Traveler said, breaking his contemplative silence. He turned from the window and laughed at his friend.

“Would you relax. Everything is fine. We’re making good time and nothing is going to happen to the train. Seriously, how many spacecraft have you been aboard way out in the void without knowing the answers to the very questions you’re asking now?” he said optimistically. Rædis ignored this point.

“You can’t know that.” Rædis scoffed. “When was this train last serviced?

“I’m serious. Just relax, man. I don’t know... Enjoy the scenery, or something. Have a smoke.” Traveler said, offering his friend a cigarette wrapped in green, translucent paper from a crumpled pack.

Rædis lifted his head off the table and declined.

“No thank you. I hate the green ones.”

Traveler slid it back into the pack and returned it to the pocket on the upper arm of his racing suit. He began to think of things to take his friend’s mind off what was troubling him. This was difficult because, unlike humans, Rædis was very adept at processing many things at one time. A very useful trait, at times, but totally annoying at present. Finally the man decided just to talk to him. He started with a question. Something he was surprised he had never actually thought to ask him before.

“Hey Ræ...” he said.

“What.” replied the robot, morosely.

“Can you survive in the vacuum of space?” Traveler asked, arching an eyebrow over a stoned, brown eye.

Rædis knew his friend was trying to take his mind off of what was bothering him and admired him for the attempt. For Traveler’s sake, he humored him though he still kept close tabs on the train.

“I can for a bit. It’s so cold it eventually will jam up my electro-chemical processes.” Rædis said. Traveler realized at this moment just how little he knew of the living machine’s actual physiology. Rædis continued.

“Also radiation isn’t good for any living thing. In open space, without any shielding, I would eventually get fried like anything else. I suppose if I were adequately shielded and put myself in a sort of ‘hibernation’ state, I would survive for quite some time but, why would I ever want to do that?” he asked rhetorically and continued...

“As well as being very cold, should there be a sun near enough it can suddenly be very hot which again, would fry me like a slice of silicon bacon.”

Traveler considered this for a moment.

“Silicon bacon. Is that actually a thing?” This triggered another thought. “Bacon... I’m gonna check out that buffet. Come with me. I’m sure there must be something there to capture your interest and give ya something else to think about.” He crushed out his cigarette in an ashtray and walked in the direction of the dining car.

Rædis shrugged and followed him. The dining car was two away from the one they were in and on the way through the intervening two cars were numerous passengers, a few members of the press covering the race and three or four other racing teams that were able to make the train before it departed sacked out in the comfortable seats.

A nice looking female press member stopped them as they made their way through the first car. She wore a casual outfit of tight fitting yet comfortable clothes. Her colors were the red, grey and silver of her particular agency with additional checkered flag details indicating her division.

“Excuse me guys. Would you mind an interview? I’m with the Galactic Racing News Net. My name is-”

“Roxy Vox! Of course we know who you are.” Traveler said, interrupting her introduction. “Sure you can interview us. I’m Traveler and this is my teammate-”

“Rædis. Yes, I know who you are.” she interrupted back with a well practiced smile of her brilliant white teeth. “Great. Just a second while I ready my camera.” She then called a small, hovering lens to her with a motion and stood as close to the two friends as she could in the narrow aisle of the train car. Her camera hovered a meter in front of the trio framing them up automatically.

Roxy Vox launched straight into her interview with professional ease.

“Greetings race fans! Rox Vox here with Traveler and Rædis of the Flat Earth Racing Team. I’ve managed to catch them during the unique train stage of this weird rally where the racers are required to catch this high speed train to reach the next stage.

How’s it going guys?” she asked them with practiced enthusiasm. Traveler, who would never pass up the chance to be in front of a camera answered without a pause.

“Hello Roxy.” he smiled at her first then addressed the camera. “Hey all you race fans across the system!” he said, flashing a thumbs up. He then turned back to the interviewer. “We are doing awesome as far as the race goes, however, my excellent teammate here is having some problems with this unusual train stage of the rally.” Traveler chuckled lightly at having put his friend on the spot and Roxy Vox’s interest was definitely piqued. She turned to Rædis and posed a question.

“Really? And what about a simple train ride could cause problems for such a vaunted and successful racing driver?”

Although not as eager to gain or accepting of attention as Traveler, when it came to racing even Rædis found it hard to refuse an interview.

“Well you see Rox...” he began glumly. ”...it’s the fact of basically surrendering oneself to riding in a very complicated machine, at great speed, when one has no idea who built it, when it was last serviced, who’s driving the thing...” He would have gone on with his list of concerns if Roxy Vox wasn’t the total professional that she was and transitioned easily back to the more amicable Traveler.

“All valid concerns, indeed but such a fearless and accomplished racer as yourself I’m sure has faced much greater perils than a simple train ride.”

Traveler was grinning at the situation he had created with the interview but the woman was too good at what she did to lose control of the situation. Through a small microphone in her ear, she was being fed the current standings of the race and addressed Traveler.

“The current stats have you two in great standing, at the moment. How do you feel you will fare in the next stage which includes large stretches of off-road madness with no actual course laid out?” She then turned to her hovering camera to explain what she was talking about to her viewers. “You see, the next stage is only loosely defined and it is left up to the driver and co-driver to navigate the best route through the stage. The race organizers call it the ‘adventure stage’.”

She looked back to Traveler for his response. The smile he was wearing somehow widened even more.

“Well Rox, lucky for our team, I have an almost superhuman sense of direction. This next stage is gonna be a blast.” he said enthusiastically.

She laughed pleasantly at his description of his navigational prowess but she didn’t know that he occasionally navigated himself back and forth through time itself.

“That’s a lucky thing for you two. Do you have anything to say for the crowds watching?” asked she. Which, of course he did. He addressed the camera directly with his twinkling brown eyes and handsome smile.

“If you all watching think this race has been exciting so far just wait until this upcoming stage. Yous ain’t seen nothing yet.” he concluded with a wink and a point directly at the camera.

Roxy Vox turned back to Rædis for his closing statement.

“Do you have anything to add to your teammate’s remark?” she asked him. She pleaded to him with her eyes for something good to close with.

“Don’t take trains.” was all he offered. Roxy Vox returned her attention to the camera.

“Well there you have it, race fans. Two wildly different perspectives from two of the race leaders so far. From the ‘train stage’ of the rally, I’m Rox Vox for GRNN and stay tuned for more updates all rally long!” she concluded and shut the camera down with a different motion. “Gosh Rædis! Talk about tanking an interview.” she said to the glum robot. “Are you really that paranoid about train rides? I mean, you travel in space for crying out loud! Surely a simple train ride shouldn’t freak you out so much.”

She then laced her arm around one if his and did something that Traveler could not. She began to use her skills as a professional interviewer with just the proper touch of her femininity to assuage his train ride trepidation.

“I assume you two were headed to the dining car. Wait until you see the buffet they’ve laid out. In-credible.” she said as she tugged a suddenly much less reluctant Rædis along towards the dining car. Traveler trailed behind them, sticking close to Roxy’s floating camera in case she should switch it on again.

As they made their way through the second car and Traveler saw that Roxy Vox ignored the four or five other pairs of drivers lounging about an idea blossomed in his brain that he would present her with should she decide to stay with them for a bite from the buffet.

Because of the limited space within the sleek train cars, the buffet was presented in a unique fashion. Diners took seats in booths and were given tablets that were similar in thickness as a menu would be. One could pan around a live picture of the buffet which was located overhead along the center of the car.

When a desired item was located, a touch of it on the screen would add it to a plate or bowl. Once the dish was loaded to a certain capacity it was hovered down to the expecting diner at the booth from which the order came on trays equipped to do so. It was actually quite an elegant procedure to behold. Traveler and Rædis stood and watched the process for several minutes while Roxy giggled at them from the booth she had chosen.

Once their wonder had abated they joined her. Traveler sat across while Rædis slid in next to her. Roxy’s camera framed them up in profile as it floated at the edge of the table. After placing their initial orders she continued her interview. As she was on the inside of the booth, she leaned forward to place herself in the shot for the question which was directed at Rædis.

“Rædis, it is well known that you are a living machine yet you rarely appear in your natural form. Why do you opt for the human disguises you frequently employ?”

Her tiny camera zoomed in on his face as he composed his response. His bright, silvery eyes shone a little brighter as he thought.

“Honestly miss Vox, I admit... initially it was to fit in and to avoid accusations that I had some sort of unfair advantage but, over time it just became a fun thing for me to do.” he answered. She was about to ask a follow-up question when Traveler interrupted.

“Hey Rox... Before you continue and we answer any more questions, I propose that this becomes an exclusive interview for an entire piece exclusively on me ’an Ræ.” he said pointing back and forth between himself and his friend. She paused her camera with a gesture and considered his offer.

“You want some sort of compensation for this from my network, or what?” she asked.

“Nah...” he shook his head. Just the exposure would do. “Come on.” he enticed her with a smile. “An exclusive piece on a top running team. All access...” he said, raising his eyebrows provocatively, tempting her journalistic professionalism. Rædis caught on, hip to the idea. His concerns about the train forgotten.

“I’ll even use my true appearance for the rest of the rally.” he offered, sweetening the deal. She looked alternately between them.

“I have to call my office. If I get approval, you got a deal.” she said and produced her phone from a pocket. She dialed them up while the boys perused their menus and made more lunchtime selections. By the time their food arrived, she had their answer.

“It’s a deal fellas. One exclusive piece on the Flat Earth Racing Team.” She cued her camera back on. “First thing’s first. Let’s begin with the name. Why ‘Flat Earth’ racing?” she asked. Both men laughed.

“Me ’an Rædis tried to start a stereotype that all racing drivers from Earth thought the world was flat. Sort of a joke that never really panned out.” Traveler answered.

“Are there people on Earth that actually think this?” she asked them, laughing at the absurdity of such a thing.

Rædis fielded this question.

“Amazingly enough, well into the twenty-first century there was an entire society of people that swore it was despite how preposterous the idea was.”

She had a good laugh over this.

“No way.” she said skeptically.

“Absolutely. They reckoned everyone was being duped by the space administration at the time as well as various other agencies. They called people ‘globetards’ for thinking the Earth was a sphere.”

“You’re kidding me.” she said, unconvinced people could be that stupid.

“Nope. Totally a thing.” said Traveler.

“So why name your racing team after a bunch of delusional nutters?”

“Because who would benefit more from a flat planet than a bunch of racing drivers?” Rædis replied, laughing.

“The stereotype never really took but the name stuck. Since we had already captured our first world championship by then, we felt it too late to change it so we just stuck with it.” shrugged Traveler.

“Anyways, if you shut your camera off for a moment I will revert to my natural form for the duration of the rally.” offered Rædis. She obliged him and then got to see a thing he rarely showed others than his closest friends. In a few seconds the handsome human appearance he was wearing smoothly morphed into the silvery seamless metal of his natural form. His fiberoptic hair grew into a fashionable style and began to slowly shift through their red, yellow and blue team colors.

She watched in awe having never seen such an amazing thing.

“Nice touch, the hair.” she complimented. He smiled.

“Thought you’d dig that.” said he. His eyes flashed brightly for her before returning to a more subdued luminosity. She reframed her camera and cued it back on. She then began her interview anew.

“Hello race fans all across the systems! Rox Vox here, comin’ back at you from the unique ‘public transportation stage’ of this year’s rally with a little change in our coverage for the remainder of the race. While you will still be recieving the most current updates and footage of your favorite teams from our other cool correspondents, for now I’ll be sticking with these guys here to bring you an exclusive perspective on one of this season’s hottest teams.

You all know ‘em. Many of you love ‘em. From the Flat Earth Racing Team, driver Rædis the living machine and his human co-driver and best friend Traveler!” she said, introducing them. Her little hovering camera backed out to show all of them within the frame. Rædis gave a gleaming smile while Traveler did the same but added an enthusiastic ‘hi’ topped off with a quick wave.

“Since this particular stage mostly involves sitting here on this train now is a great time to get to know these boys a little better and hear what they think about this precedent setting moment in rallying history. Hi guys!”

Like he usually does, Traveler spoke first. He absolutely loved this idea.

“Hello Rox. Hey, thanks for this opportunity to allow me ’an Rædis to give you our take on this weird race.” he said with a face and in a tone like he was born to be broadcast. Roxy Vox’s enthusiastic intro and just her pleasant demeanor in general had prompted Rædis out of the mood he was in and he too took on a charismatic and almost whimsical nature.

Being in his natural form also helped a lot. He was much more himself when he actually looked like himself.

“Hey Rox. Thanks for taking the time for this awesome little segment.” he said then turned to address the camera. “What’s up racing fans out there. I hope you’ve been enjoying watching this rally as much as I have driving in it. This is a fantastic planet.”

He set up Roxy Vox perfectly for her next comment.

“But that’s the thing I want to talk about while you are still racing but aren’t actually driving. What do you think about this strange transportation stage?”

Before he could answer, several plates of the food they ordered arrived and set themselves down gently on their table. Without missing a beat Rædis said:

“I admit. I had my initial reservations but then I saw the buffet set up for racers in this dining car and I totally dig it.”

Traveler and Roxy laughed as Rædis held up a slice of some purple fruit to the camera before popping it into his mouth.

“What is that?” Roxy asked him.

“Damned if I know.” he said around the mouthful of fruit. “It’s really sweet though. I like it.”

“And you Traveler... What’s your take on this stage?” she asked him. The camera switched to show his face from the shoulders up to include enough of his racing suit to indicate his team.

“As the co-driver in charge of navigation as long as we’re on the right train and it’s headed in the proper direction, it’s cool with me. I mean, it isn’t the most exciting of racing to participate in and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to make interesting to broadcast...” he trailed off as an idea formed in a fun and mischievous part of his mind. The camera zoomed slowly in on his expression as he thought. He then continued as the spark of an idea twinkled in his eyes. ”...What do you say Roxy Vox and Rædis Robot that we do something to make this stage a little more interesting to watch plus a little more competitive to well, compete in?”

He concluded his statement with a devilish grin before sticking a utensil full of something resembling a piece of a syrup dripping waffle into his mouth. Fortunately the camera cut back to Roxy because whatever he had just eaten was disgusting and he promptly spit it back onto the plate from which it came.

Roxy and Rædis ignored his culinary rejection of the food and were far more interested in whatever was developing in his mischievous mind.

“We’ll be back after some updates from our other correspondents around the circuit. Stay tuned for more from me and the boys here.” said Roxy raising a glass of juice as she turned her broadcast over to her colleagues before cutting the camera off.

“What are you thinking?” she and Rædis both said nearly simultaneously.

Traveler drank some of his own juice to wash the foul taste of the alien waffle from his mouth.

“Well, there’s nothing I can think of in the rules that says we can’t do anything to make this stage more difficult for our competitors. I mean, we’re still racing, right? Even if we are simply sitting on a train. Ræ?” he differed to his friend who went over the complete rules in his mind. He had memorized them before the race as was his habit before any motorsport he competed in.

“As far as I can discern from the rules of the race, no. There is nothing that says we have to simply sit on this train until it gets to the next stage. Why? he said with a smile.

Roxy too was smiling as whatever he was planning was going to make for great entertainment. She was happy she decided to stick with them for her broadcast.

“I don’t have anything solid as of yet but we still have four hours on this train to screw around with it somehow. Rædis has been closely monitoring the train’s progress and functions since we set off.” Traveler told Roxy. “I’m sure we can use his finely honed senses to our advantage. But that comes later. The first thing we have to do is change the train’s clocks.” said Traveler.

Both Rædis and Roxy laughed.

“I’m sure the racers are keeping their own time.” Roxy said.

“Yeah, but we should sow as much confusion as possible among them.” Rædis said to her. “It should be easy enough for me to reset the train’s chronometers. Hee-hee...good thinkin’ Trav.”

Roxy Vox was loving this and was wondering just how much of it she should record.

“You fellas don’t mind if I record your activities during all this, yeah?” she asked them. The two boys looked at each other across the table.

“I dunno. I mean, it could disqualify us later should our actions come into question.” Traveler said.

“Or, we could use it in our defense. Besides...I want to have a record of this. Win or lose, it’s going to be hilarious.” said Rædis, lightly laughing.

“Agreed. Film at will Roxy Vox.” Traveler told her. The woman smiled happily.

“Oh this is going to be so good.” said she. She then tried a wedge of the purple fruit. “Mmm...it IS sweet. I like it.”

The trio sat and dined and planned how to turn this ridiculous racing stage to their mutual advantages.

They ate quickly, Rædis the least.

“I’m going to find a terminal or some sort of access to the train’s systems and change the time on its clocks. What do ya think? An hour and a half?” he asked, rising from his seat.

“Hmm...one hour and thirty seven minutes.” said Traveler, throwing out an arbitrary number but one he hoped significant enough to cause meaningful confusion. “Switch your camera back on, Rox but don’t broadcast, just record.”

“Got it.” she said and cued him when she did. It hovered before his face.

“Okay race fans. Here’s what’s up. Since me ’an my teammate think this stage, although unique, is totally boring. So we’ve decided to make it a little more fun and challenging for all involved. The first thing we’re going to do is turn the train’s clocks back a bit. We have no idea the effect this will have on the race but it should be more fun than nothing to find out. Also...” he said holding up a forkful of the waffle-like food. ”...whatever this is, it’s totally disgusting. Never eat it.”

When he was done she cut the camera off.

“You have a very natural way in front of a camera, I have to say Traveler. I’ve covered sports of all sorts my entire career and most athletes, even very talented ones are usually clods in front of a camera.

I mean, sure many do commercials and seem to have funny or witty personalities but I assure you that doesn’t come without extensive direction and many takes. Regular planks of wood, most of ’em.” she said to him. He tried the purple fruit.

“Well...I’m not always a racing driver.” he said. She began to wonder what else it was that he did.

“I may have to do an exposé on you someday. I’m sure it would be very interesting.” she smiled almost flirtatiously but it was merely part of her professional charm.

“Oh you have no idea.” he said. “But for now I gotta think of what else we can do on this train.” he said dabbing purple fruit juice from his lips with a green cloth napkin.

“What’cha thinking?” she asked growing increasingly more curious in the tall, thin racing driver. He certainly had an infectious charisma about him as well as his natural fluidity in front of a camera. Shy, he was not. That’s for sure. She also found him rather good looking despite his gaunt, sharp features and extreme pallor. She correctly concluded he must spend a majority of his time in space away from the ultraviolet rays of a natural sun.

“I’m not quite sure. I’m trying to think of something that would work to our advantage without breaking the rules. More like bending them to our advantage. I dunno... I’ll think of something. I’m going for a smoke.” he said, sliding out from the booth. She got up and followed him back to the smoking car he was in before.

Once there he lit one of his self-lighting cigarettes with a bite on its filter tip. He offered her one which she declined. She switched her little camera back on. It hovered over her shoulder as he leaned casually on a railing before a long window.

“How long have you been a racing driver?” she asked him. He exhaled grey smoke and smiled handsomely. He loved talking about himself in certain respects.

“Since I was sixteen Earth years old. That’s where I’m from. I won my first Gran Prix when I was eighteen and my first world championship when I was twenty.” he said proudly. Roxy was slightly impressed by this.

“Wow...so young. Not too shabby.” said she.

“Well, I had an amazing team and good mentor to teach me. He went by the crazy name ‘Zack Galactic’.” recalled Traveler with a sentimental look in his sparkly brown eyes. Roxy Vox had never heard this name before. Traveler could tell by her expression.

“What happened to him? I’ve never heard of him before.” she said as her camera zoomed closer in on his face to capture his emotion.

“He was not a racing driver. He was a space adventurer. I’m not sure what became of him, actually. Once he had shown me the ropes of driving and realized I was sort of a natural at it, he disappeared.”

“You never thought to try and find him?” she asked as he smoked and looked out of a large window at the landscape speeding by. It was rapidly changing as they progressed. The trees became more numerous and dense. Large open areas of water could also be seen. Far away in the distance the tall towers of a city poked up from the horizon. He wondered how urban the area the train was scheduled to stop was going to be.

This particular rally provided little information on the upcoming stages. Traveler liked these kind of races as they appealed to his fondness for venturing into the unknown with little more than his wits, his best friend and a reliable and fast machine.

“No.” he answered the woman. “I reckoned one day I might stumble across him again in my travels but prefer it to be a surprise.”

She liked that response and was happy to have recorded it. During the lull in their conversation she cut the camera off. She could almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he thought of more ways to mess with the train. After he crushed his second smoke out in an ashtray and paused for another moment admiring the woman’s patience he smiled. Roxy cued her camera back on to record the devilish expression that spread slowly across his face.

“I know what I want to do.” said he with much glee.

“And that would be..?” she asked from off camera.

“Let’s have a little chat with the other racers on the train, shall we? Perhaps see what they think of this...‘public transportation’ stage. Maybe get in their heads ’an see if we can rattle them a bit.”

She liked where he was going with this.

“Sort of like Rædis messes with the hardware while you fool around with the soft?” she prompted him with a grin of her own.

“Well put, Miss Vox.” he said and began walking to a car where many of the other teams that made the train were sacked out for the duration of the ride.

“Just Roxy will do for you, Traveler.” she said to him as her and her camera followed him to the door between cars. He liked that he was endearing himself to her yet kept in mind that she was still a reporter and merely following the most interesting thing currently going on. To provide some further incentive for her to keep doing so he said over his shoulder as he reached the door:

“Stick with Ræ ’an me Roxy and I assure you a hell of a good story no matter what the outcome.”

“Oh I believe you. No worries there.” she said from behind him as he entered the next car.

Once inside Traveler found half a dozen racers longing about the car. Two were snoozing, having stretched out along some seats using their helmets and racing jackets as pillows. Three were conversing about the race and the remaining driver was watching the land speed past out of the large, curved window of the train car.

Traveler got their attention with his presence, the woman behind him and a hearty hello to his fellow racers.

“Wassup fellow speedsters!” said he drawing all eyes toward him. Even the sleeping racer who Traveler recognized as a driver from a competitive team he and Rædis would love to defeat. Her green hair was matted at odd angles, a result of it being crammed into a helmet for a lengthy period of time.

“Hey Traveler. How’s it goin’, man.” said the one driver as he turned from the window. He noticed the woman behind him as well as her floating camera that followed her into the train car. “Whoa, you’re Rox Vox, the Space Net sports correspondent. Gosh, you’re even hotter in person.” he said as he swung his legs off the seat they were propped up on and attempted to smooth out his disheveled appearance to no effect.

Roxy was unimpressed with the man.

“And you are Ickx. You’re thing is endurance racing. What attracted you to this rally?” she asked him as she directed her camera past her to frame up the disheveled racing driver. Ickx looked at the addressed the little camera.

“Well, it was more out of contractual obligation than real desire but nevertheless, my co-driver and I are doing rather well and I can see us finishing first once this stupid stage is complete and we can start actually driving again.” he said with a roll of his blue eyes. Like Traveler, he was from Earth but had a different accent than his tall, thin contemporary. Traveler had raced against Ickx many times in a variety of formats and had both won and lost against him under varying circumstances.

In this contest, however, Traveler had no doubt he and Rædis would triumph over the older man.

“Ickx! Good to see you ya crusty fuck. And who has your team paid to be your co-driver? I can’t imagine having to sit in a vehicle with your weird old ass for so long.” laughed Traveler.

“That would be me.” said the green haired woman. She rubbed her sleepy eyes into a more alert state as things in the train car appeared to be getting more interesting. Roxy’s camera pivoted, zoomed in on her face and displayed information about her for the record.

Traveler had only seen this racer a few times and could not recall ever competing in a race featuring her. He did not know her name or anything about her save for how she was apparently competent enough to get herself and Ickx on the same train as Rædis and himself.

“And who are are..?” he began to ask.

“My name is Ivy Bells. I am Ickx’s-”

“Ickx’s co-driver for this race. Yes, I gathered that.” interrupted Traveler. “Apparently a fairly competent one seeing as you both have gotten this far.”

“I am extremely competent, Traveler.” said Ivy Bells with competitive contempt. “And yes, I’m well aware of who you and your teammate are. I am eagerly anticipating looking down at you two from the top of the winner’s podium. Provided you guys even get to it.” she said with a keen look of competition in her now fully awake and alert eyes.

Traveler laughed good naturedly. This type of tough talking banter was not uncommon between racers but there was a savagery to her remark that sounded almost personally directed at him. Not easily intimidated or taken aback, Traveler met her remark with enthusiasm.

“That’s the spirit Bells! Best of luck ’cause you’re gonna need it.” He then turned to Ickx. “Damn man! It’s about time you got yourself a co-driver that seems up to your level. You may actually get a chance to stand on that podium if your old ass can climb up that far.” he joked. Ickx looked up at Traveler and laughed.

“Well, when we are poised at the top we’ll be sure to look down on you two among the racers that didn’t make it.” Ickx said with a smirk. Ivy Bells also shot him a snide look. Roxy Vox was sure to get the exchange between the rivals on camera. Traveler continued his psychological intimidation of the racers in the car.

“Who else do have here?” he asked, stalking along the walkway between the seats. He made his long fingers leap like a jumper off the backs of the seats as he prowled down the aisle. His sparkly gaze fell on the second of the snoozing drivers.

He was a grey skinned humanoid called Rolino. He had dull black hair which he wore long as males of his species were want to do and was currently using it to cover his face with to block out the lights of the train car as he napped. Behind the hair, however, he was awake now and knew Traveler had stopped next to where he was stretched out.

“Leave me alone Traveler. I’m trying to ride out this ridiculous stage by getting some rest.” said Rolino.

“I don’t see how you could sleep. I mean, if I were you I’d be too excited looking forward to and going over the next stage in my mind and with my co-driver.” Traveler said simply to be obnoxious.

“I was going over the stage in my mind until you came in and started being a prick.” the Rolino said, refusing to part his hair and give in to Traveler’s taunts. Traveler instead turned to his co-driver sacked out in the seat opposite the man.

“How do you find the race so far, mate?” Traveler asked. “Haven’t gotten lost yet, I see.”

Everyone in the car knew Traveler was trying to psyche them out.

No one seemed to be going for it though. This quickly became apparent to him and he realized he would not be able to gain any sort of psychological edge over anyone present. He hoped Rædis was having better luck tampering with the train itself while he decided to change his tack.

“Any of you try the buffet yet? It’s pretty good. Can I interest one of you in a plate...perhaps?” he said, trying an amiable approach. No one was biting though. He was too well known among general racing community and always eager to give interviews or lend an unsolicited perspective. In this instance his outgoing nature was working against him and none of the other racers were about to allow themselves to be derailed by his psychological tom-foolery.

Traveler turned to Roxy’s camera, shrugged and made a slashing gesture across his throat. She cut the camera off as he walked to her side. “My attempt at mental trickery clearly isn’t working. Looks like it’s up to Ræ.” he told her in a low voice.

She looked disappointed. He noted this. “C’mon...let’s see what he’s up to.” said Traveler trying to re-spark her enthusiasm in their antics. He did not want to lose her exclusive coverage.

Traveler and Roxy found Rædis in the engineering car behind the train’s drive section or, its very front car. Within it was nothing but machinery and computers on both sides of its narrow center aisle. He was hooked into a terminal by a small, thin wire that was sticking comically out of a tiny port in the top of his head.

The wire was flickering green with his thoughts as he interacted with the computer of the train.

He looked up from what he was doing upon seeing them enter. Roxy began recording with her camera as soon as she saw him for no other reason than how silly he looked. She chuckled as her camera framed him up.

“How do you know when you have the shot you want?” Rædis asked the reporter.

“I am connected to the camera via an implant in my head. I can see what it sees within a window that opens in the corner of my field of vision.” she told him. Rædis was impressed.

“That is so cool. Uh, how’d it go with the other racers?” he asked them. Traveler frowned and gave his report.

“Not so good. They all seemed hip to my attempts at psychological subversion.”

“Well honestly, you aren’t the most subtle of antagonists sometimes.” said Rædis truthfully. Traveler blew the remark off.

“How ’bout you? What’s up with the train?”

Rædis flashed an encouraging smile. The wire bobbed in his head when he spoke.

“Super good.” said he with double thumbs up. “The train has very easily subverted electronic defenses. Turning the clocks back was simple so I probed a little deeper to see what else I could mess around with.”

“And..?” asked Traveler, grinning at the wire.

“Well, I’ve slowed us down a bit and changed all the drinks dispensers to serve nothing but caffeine free beverages.” Roxy and Traveler chuckled at this. “I’ve kept the engineers ignorant of my work, of course.”

“Of course.” Traveler said. Roxy interjected at this point.

“You boys don’t consider any of this cheating? Not even the slightest bit?” she asked. Both team members looked at each other briefly and in unison answered “No.” to her camera.

“Like I said before we began, I went through all the rules and nothing was mentioned about our conduct on the train so like, I reckoned it was more or less fair game.” the robot shrugged. “Anyways, if anyone does take issue with what we’ve done, other than the record you’re keeping, no one else would be the wiser so no one would know.” Rædis said to Roxy.

“A record which, unless you’re also storing in your head, can be easily deleted should we have to resort to such measures.” said Traveler trying to sound ominous. Roxy Vox looked up at the tall man and tapped her temple with a grin.

“I’m afraid you boy racers are out of luck. When it comes to the recording, you would indeed have to drill the chip out of my head which, after meeting you both I hardly think either of you would do. Besides, this is not the only place my recordings get stored.” Roxy said with a grin.

Traveler smiled down at the woman.

“You are so cool you crafty lady. A total professional. Of course we wouldn’t do something like that.” he said. He was genuinely impressed by her. “Look, for now let’s forget about what might happen and concentrate on what we’re doing.” he suggested. Rædis agreed.

“Really, all we’ve done is mess with the clocks and the speed of the train. At best it would only serve to sew a little confusion when we reach the next stage. I’m sure everyone is keeping their own time anyway. What we should really be doing is studying the next stage of the race, if you ask me.” said he.

Traveler looked at his friend and sighed.

“Okay, okay...you’re right. I’d also like another go at that buffet.”

Roxy Vox agreed.

“Me too, actually.”

“Will you still agree to follow us exclusively?” asked Rædis with his most endearing expression. Roxy laughed.

“Are you kidding me? You guys are too much fun not to. I can both cover the race and do my special piece on two of the most interesting racers on the

the circuit.”

Neither of them doubted her professional ability and were happy she was willing to follow their progress. Traveler slapped his hands together enthusiastically.

“Excellent. So then, let’s adjourn to the dining car and continue our breakfast feast.”

“Awesome.” Rædis said forgetting he was still attached to the computer. He took a pace before being yanked back by the wire.

“Oh, damn.” he said as he popped it from the top of his head. Roxy Vox laughed. “You can just edit that out if you like.”

“Not on your life, metal man. That was hilarious.” she said.

Together they made their way back to the dining car to enjoy the fantastic spread for the duration of the ride.