Model T

Alex was the first to notice it. She was cruising along in her new Ares S1. A car passed her. “Electric?” she asked herself as she grabbed her smart phone. Then, she thought about it for half-a-moment. “Now, where on Earth did you come from?” she whispered. It seemed to her the car more-or-less appeared in an open spot in front of her. “No car is that fast, not even a Rimac or a Koenigsegg,” Alex thought. “What…is…that?” she said aloud as followed in her S1, but when she was just about to catch up, the car flew off. Literally. As in, “where we’re going, we don’t need roads…” flew off.

Others saw what Alex saw, but most chalked it up to fatigue, the angle of the morning sun, or “nah, it couldn’t be.” Except it could. And, because she was Supercar Blondie, Alex made it her mission to find out exactly what that machine was, and just who was driving it.

At a glance, and a glance was all anyone got, a few people could have sworn they saw a T-shaped logo on the front of the car. Besides flying, and bending the laws of physics, the hyper-car appeared to have quite a few features an earth car didn’t. Some thought it rested on pontoons. Some didn’t notice any pontoons but believed it did not have wheels in a conventional sense. Others claimed it was unmanned, but for the man driving…or perhaps piloting it. And nobody got a good look at him, except for Alex. She also managed to take a couple of snapshots of the car.

The authorities could not find a record of the vehicle, which wasn’t surprising given that it had no license plates. Maybe Alex’s network of contacts in the exotic car market could give her a clue. But her team kept turning up nothing. The mystery hyper-car and its driver apparently didn’t exist.

“Guys! I’d really love to check out this car. Wouldn’t it be crazy cool to interview the driver?” Alex posted her photos of the flying hyper-car with an appeal to her followers for any information they could provide. In return, she promised a ”free road-trip with Supercar Blondie.” Yet, her crowdsourcing proved fruitless. Besides, she had other cars to test drive.

2

Alex made a personal pit stop after lunch. A man about six inches shorter than Alex, dressed in black hooded coveralls, wearing dark wrap-around goggles, must have followed her into the ladies’ room. As she left the stall, she opened her mouth to scream. The man in black raised his hand, as if to stop her. She recognized him as the driver of the mystery car.

Before she could make a sound, the man spoke, “Supercar Blondie, I presume. My name is Crex. I understand you are looking for me…and my…car. Would you like to go for a ride?”

“Just let me get my team, and…”

“I am afraid there is no time for that. I need your help. We must leave immediately.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if you’re a serial killer or something?”

“I think you will find I am in many ways something.”

“What?”

“I am not here to kill you or harm you in any way. But I need your help or others may die.”

“Where? How?”

“It is best if I show you.”

Making sure they weren’t observed, Crex ushered Alex out the emergency exit and along a side street.

“End cloaking,” he stated clearly.

The mystery hyper-car appeared. It seemed to float about one foot off the pavement. Its chassis rested on twin cylindrical nacelles. At the rear was a set of four thrusters, glowing a pale violet. The overall shape resembled a large aerodynamic sport coupe, but with a taller passenger compartment, designed for two. There were no wheels or tires. When Crex commanded, “Open,” a door smoothly swung out and a step folded down to allow Alex to enter the vehicle.

The typically gregarious Supercar Blondie had nothing to say. She found herself stepping into the…what was it…a cockpit?… as Crex said, “It is probably best if I explain everything on the way.”

All Alex could manage was a muted, “Holy moly…”

“I assume you are acquainted with gravitational acceleration. This may be uncomfortable for a few moments.”

The car climbed at a ludicrous speed.

Within several minutes they were free of Earth’s atmosphere.

Alex, pinned back in her seat, was stunned by the acceleration and the view. When she spoke, all she could think to ask was, “that’s like 0-60 in what, a fraction of a second?” When she was at last able to reach into her pocket for her phone, she followed up with, “Do you mind if I record this?”

“Yes. I…mind. Please do not record…this. Any of it. What I am about to tell you must not be a part of your…vlog,” Crex replied.

“Why me?” Alex inquired. “If this is an abduction…”

“It is not an abduction,” Crex cut her off. “You entered the vehicle without protest. If you had said no, I would have sought help from someone else.”

“O…K…but why me?” Alex repeated.

“You, Supercar Blondie, are reportedly one of the foremost experts on cars and driving in the world, are you not?”

“Well, I do report on a lot of cool cars, but I wouldn’t say I am foremost. I just happen to love cars.”

“Your vlog would suggest otherwise. You are familiar with dozens of the latest vehicles your planet has to offer. I plan to teach you to operate this vehicle. From what I have seen, you should have no trouble. I need you to help me carry out a rescue.”

3

The headlines were tantalizing: Maven of Motorcars Missing: Supercar Blondie Not Seen Since Yesterday. Cook Witnessed Unknown Man Forcing Auto Aficionado into Strange Car. Baffled Police Begin Citywide Search for Siren of Cylinders. Blondie’s Team Fears Foul Play.

There wasn’t much to go on. Alex hadn’t ever gone missing before. She loved her team and wouldn’t let them down. No one could think of anyone who wanted to harm her. But she was searching for a mystery man and his car. Could he be involved? And if so, where had he taken her? Alex’s photos of the hyper-car went viral overnight.

4

“A rescue? What kind of rescue? Alright…Mr. Crex, what precisely do you expect me to do? And please start at the beginning,” Alex was more insistent now.

Crex set the controls for a what he called a jump. “You were not wrong when you called this a hyper-car. As you are about to see, it can navigate through hyperspace. Just a moment. Now we are on our way.”

The stars, as points of light, blinked out, and in their place a concentric rainbow of parallel streaks appeared around the vehicle.

“On our way to where?”

“My Ship. My crew. You are going to help me free them.”

Alex took a minute to process that statement. “Do I look like a police officer? I’m just a girl who loves cars, not a superhero.”

“I don’t need a superhero. I need a little help. Don’t worry. You shouldn’t be in any real danger.”

“You just said, shouldn’t and danger. I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Alex. You are the first human to make a hyperspace jump. Everything has risks. As you know, driving a car has more risks than travelling by airplane. Hyperspace technology for my people is even safer. However, there is still a small probability of ending up inside a star or landing in an alternate universe.”

“You’re not making me feel better, Crex. I don’t like the words, however or inside a star, either.”

“Please try not to worry. If anything goes wrong, please get back in this vehicle and press these buttons immediately: Red. Yellow. Green. Red. Blue. Blue. Blue. Like this.” Crex pointed to the controls. “I have programmed the Model T to return you to your point of departure after this sequence.”

“Cool…” Alex paused. “Wait a minute! Would you please tell me how I’ll know when something goes wrong?”

“You will know.”

Crex spent the remaining time in transit teaching Alex how to “drive” the hyperspace car. There was a massive amount of automation, so in many ways it would be easier to maneuver the Model T in space than drive on the streets of New York or Boston. All she would need to do would be to drop Crex off at his main ship, what science fiction stories often called a “mothership,” and return to pick him up later. Her existence would be kept a secret. The car would appear to drift harmlessly in space until the appointed time.

The plan was to give Crex time to free his crew from some bad guys who had taken them hostage. He would pay their ransom – apparently something inside a metal case Crex would take with him. If all went well, the pirates would go their way and Alex would meet his crew. If not, Alex would pick Crex up and make a run for it. He didn’t have a plan B.

The Model T emerged from hyperspace a hundred miles from Crex’s ship. The closer they came; the more Alex could take stock of it. The ship was about the length of a football field – not the American kind, but the international kind, measured in meters, not yards. As they approached, they received a transmission. Roughly translated, it was, “Do you have what we want?” Crex assured the speaker that he had the item and received an assurance in return that none of his crew had been harmed. At least this is what he told Alex.

Crex piloted the Model T into an empty docking bay and grabbed the metal case. Leaving Alex in the hyper-car, he whispered, “follow the plan,” and jumped out. Alex activated a program. A brief burn of thrusters and the Model T was adrift in space. The docking bay doors closed.

5

“Did you bring us an Earth woman?” one of the pirates asked.

“Yes. I will produce her as soon as everyone in my crew is in this docking bay. Safe and unharmed,” Crex replied.

“You can have the Earth woman, Rik,” another said. “All I want is the controller module. Do you have it, Crex?”

“Right here. I have exactly what you need.” Crex patted the case.

“Good.”

“Now, my crew, if you please?”

“Alright, Crex. A deal’s a deal. Here they are.”

“Is everyone alright?” asked Crex.

The crew collectively shrugged acknowledgement.

“Are you ready to keep our end of the deal? Just as we agreed?” Crex asked them.

The crew shrugged again.

“Your crew doesn’t seem so happy, Crex,” the gang leader smirked.

“Would you be, Rik?”

“Suppose not. Let’s get on with it, then.”

“Very well.” Crex glanced at his wrist. His wristband showed Alex would be arriving shortly. He pretended to key in a sequence of commands. The docking bay doors opened, and the force field activated.

The Model T was in position, with Alex in the driver’s seat. She graciously opened the door and stepped out.

“I’ve got to hand it to you Crex. You certainly know how to pick a woman – on any planet,” Rik said as he and his cohorts stepped towards Alex.

“Hey! This is not cool, Crex!” Alex shouted.

Crex ignored her. As she was swinging her legs out of the Model T, he removed an evaporator pistol from the metal case. The pirate closest to Alex collapsed to the floor, with nothing located where his head formerly sat comfortably. Alex froze.

“The plan, Alex!” Crex stage whispered.

Crex’s crew jumped the one still guarding them. Crex took cover and systematically disintegrated various body parts from the remaining pirates.

Alex fought back the urge to lose what was left of her lunch. “Still, not cool, Crex…” She jumped in the Model T and punched in the sequence. Red. Yellow. Green. Red. Blue. Blue. Blue. The hyper-car shot out of the docking bay.

In a few minutes, Rik and his co-conspirators, recently missing a variety of appendages, had found new, rent-free homes in the vacuum of space.

“Just as we agreed,” Crex remarked.

All but one of the crew laughed.

“What’s the matter with you, Zu?”

“Well, Crex. That was awfully unfair to the Earth woman. How would you like to be used as a diversion and nearly have your head blown off?”

“When you put it that way…” Crex answered. “Listen, Zu. I plan to make it up to her. And I want all of you to be on your best behavior.”

Crex glanced at his wrist. “We have about 20 standard intervals to get cleaned up and ready to receive our honored guest.”

6

Alex fumed as the Model T entered hyperspace. “At least I’ll have the coolest hyper-car on Earth,” she said to herself. “I’d like to smack Crex, though.”

A short time later, Alex felt the car drop out of hyperspace. “What the…?” She found herself approaching Crex’s ship. “Definitely not cool…” she mumbled.

A transmission began, “Alex, this is Crex.”

“You lied to me, Crex! You said I shouldn’t be in danger. You said the sequence I learned would take me safely back to Earth. You didn’t say I was to be traded for your crew as what…a sex slave!?”

“Look, I didn’t say it would take you back to Earth. Just to your point of departure. And, I couldn’t risk telling you the whole plan. I needed to surprise them.”

“Well that part worked. You took that poor guy’s head off while he was ogling me. You surprised the hell out of me too. I thought I was going to die. My life passed in front of my eyes.”

“My apologies. As one of my crew pointed out, I used you as a distraction and knowingly put you in danger. I understand, in your words, that’s not cool. But you did help me rescue my crew.”

“I’d like to meet that crewman…or woman. Whoever it is, they understand how I feel. You had no right to use me as bait without my permission.”

“You are correct. Again, my apologies. I’d like to make it up to you.”

“How, Crex? What could you possibly offer to make this right?”

“What would you say to a tour of the best vehicle restoration facility in this part of the galaxy?”

“And where might that be?”

“My ship. My crew are the best hyper-car builders in this quadrant. Of course, it is your choice. You may get out and take a tour or I can take you straight home.”

“Promise me. No more tricks. No more danger.”

“Agreed. I think you will find my crew to be kindred spirits. I’ve told them about you. They are eager to meet you and show off their work.”

“OK. A tour of your ship would be cool. May I shoot some video?’

“No. We cannot allow that. But we will welcome you as our special guest.”

By this time, the Model T had entered the docking bay and the doors had drawn closed. Crex introduced his crew and asked to show Alex around.

“I have one question before we get started,” Alex stated.

“What is that?”

“Why do you call that car the Model T?”

“I have been studying Earth for many years. Do you remember the vehicle one of your more eccentric billionaires sent into space?”

“Hmm…the Tesla Roadster?” It dawned upon Alex why the “T” insignia looked familiar.

“Yes. I found it drifting in space and added it to my collection. We have it here. I would be happy to show it to you. It’s not in very good condition, though. The Model T is my revised version of it.”

Alex slapped her forehead. “Of course, I see the resemblance now! How could I have missed it?”

“No one on Earth expected the Tesla Roadster to be recovered. And it was basically floating junk. But we thought it was cute, so we built another, a better craft inspired by its design. What do you think of it?”

“It’s fantastic! Very cool! Unbelievable, in fact. I really like what you’ve done with it.”

The Tesla and the Model T were part of a collection of landers, jump ships, cruisers, and runabouts Crex had amassed over the years. The crew made money restoring and refurbishing small spacecraft for a rather elite set of clients – the super-rich of their corner of the galaxy. Alex was clearly in supercar heaven. Too bad there could be no photos.

At length, Crex reminded Alex that her team must be worried about her. She agreed it was time to go home. “The Model T awaits,” Crex announced. He used another sequence to set course for Earth: Red. Purple. Green. Yellow. Orange. Red…

Alex was thinking about these colors as she came to on the floor of the ladies’ room. A yellow, orange and red sign reading, “Danger. Wet Floor.” stood by the door.

“You took a nasty bump, Alex,” Alex heard Nik say through the haze. “The ambulance is on the way. We’re going to get you checked out. Just lie still. Don’t try to get up…”

“Alright,” Alex sighed. “I hope it’s a classic Land Rover ambulance. That would be super cool… Oh, and after the room stops spinning, guys, I have a weird story to tell you.”