Hell on Wheels 3: The AOVs Awaken

Stubbornly determined, Joe Smith and the Brown Family prepare to confront the sentient Autonomous Operated Vehicles on two separate fronts.

Hell on Wheels 3: The AOVs Awaken

               

Chicago, still outside the RJD Building:  Joe, Don, and the others try to make heads or tails of the chaotic, puzzling circumstances, and how they could possibly confront the sentient Automated Operated Vehicles, which were now, literally, self-driving cars. Some thought their first priority should be to rescue punk Stevie who incredibly jumped onto the back of an AOV as it drove away. Others, such as Bill, thought they should simply stop the AOVs in their tracks by any means. Stevie, on the other hand, simply grasped the opportunity to jump on one and ride away. Joe and Don have more reasonable ideas.

                Turning from his headcount of determined individuals to retrieve his RV and head on out to chase AOVs, Don listened in to Sal’s disclosure to Joe regarding his personal, extraordinary mode of transportation that has nothing to do with Artificial Intelligence like in the AOVs.

                “Sal, you propose chasing the AOVs on a Clodhopper off-road moped?” Don asked doubtfully.

                Joe understood what had been offered, but Sal explained, “Not a Clodhopper, Don, but a Cloudhopper�"a mandrone.”

                “You flew a drone above�"through Chicago? I thought that was illegal,” Joe said, but then glancing around at the destruction and chaos that surrounded them, he amended his notion. “Well, I guess that sure doesn’t matter now. What do you propose, Sal?”

                “Obviously, someone uses it to chase down the AOVs�"see where they’re headed.”

                “I recall something about the Cloudhoppers I read in Popular Dronation,” Joe said. “One person is all they can carry, right?”

                “It can carry two that doesn’t exceed its weight limit but adding that amount of weight curbs its range and maneuverability. Whoever takes it needs all the range available, I believe.”

                “Joe,” Don said, interrupting the two. “Six of us are going to hike and get my RV. We’ll follow the AOVs if we’re able. You two pursue the drone. I have a CB radio in the RV, so if you have access to a radio, I’ll monitor Channel 21. Good luck!” The six men and women headed west on Washington Street.

                Joe watched them for a moment, before asking Sal, “So where’s your drone?”

                Sal pointed up North Dearborn Street.  “Upper berth of the Inner Loop Parking Tower, let’s go.”

                As the two started out, they spotted Bill the brawny coming toward them dragging something long and heavy.  As the three drew closer to each other, Joe saw that Bill dragged a CPD spike strip.

                “I broke into the cop car and borrowed this thing,” Bill said proudly. “This oughta’ stop one of them single-minded, self-drivin’ felons. Then, we can dissemble it to see what’s going on.”

Joe and Sal hesitatedly agreed with Bill’s intention and so told him of their plans. Not so interested in that sort of mundane activity, Bill moved off in haste with his spike strip dragging behind to catch up with Don and his crew while Joe and Sal continued in the opposite direction. 

***

Meanwhile, back on I-80 in Nebraska, the Brown’s SUV gained on the quadruple cluster of AOVs heading east. The Browns along with Joyce acting as psychoanalyst/consultant had determined that the three AOVs attempted to overpower the forth that a person remained inside and drove.  Ted hammered hard to intercept the trapped and harassed person but hadn’t actually come up with a plan to rescue the person.  With the three entrapping AOVs front, rear, and aside of the person’s car, interception would be difficult seeing the AOVs were of one mind to rescue one of their own.

“Ted?” Marcia asked timidly. “Do you think this approach is smart? They could turn and attack us instead of the other car if we interfere.”

“I don’t know what to do yet�"yeah, I’m thinking about that very possibility.” 

Joyce had been leaning forward intently watching the action ahead over Ted’s shoulder. “I don’t believe they’ll attack us,” she said. “Ted, turn off the info center on the car�"everyone turn off your phones.”

“Ahhhh, mom. I never turn my phone off, how do you turn it off?” Mary asked. She handed it over to Joyce who took care of it. Kim, sitting next to her, slumped down in her seat and looked forward.

“I hope I’m right, but I think they won’t even know we’re here unless there’s some way for them to detect us,” Joyce said. “Hmmm, electronic ignition emissions are a possible way I didn’t initially consider�"I hope not. It’s up to you, I’m just a passenger.”

“You’re more than that, Joyce,” Ted said to Joyce in the rearview mirror much to Marcia’s glower. “You might be one of the few people who have a theory to why these cars are acting this way.”

After a minute or so, the Brown’s car got within two car lengths of the cluster. The action up ahead kept up the same, the person trying to bump, accelerate, or swerve away from the one-minded AOVs, but they countered every single one of their moves with split-second timing and precision driving accuracy. Ted studied their moves.

“No person can outmaneuver those computer-controlled cars�"too quick and too flawless,” Ted said defeated with a scowl. “Not even me.”  

“I don’t know about that, Ted,” Joyce said. “They only react to stimuli they can detect, on top of knowing where they are going. If you’re up for it, get closer and see if they react to us.”

Ted slowly eased the accelerator down and began moving up into the slot behind the AOV in their lane and next to the AOV behind the trapped person’s car. Just as their front bumper got even with that rearmost AOV it swerved over clipping the Brown’s bumper with crunch and scraping smash that elicited a gasp from Ted’s passengers.  The SUV’s tires squealed and they swerved toward disaster.  

***

At the same time, Joe and Sal jogged to the parking tower and then up to the roof level. Off to one side, plugged into an electrical outlet, sat the six-rotor Cloudhopper.  Joe eyed it up as Sal pulled, coiled, and stowed the power cord.

“What do you propose?” Joe asked studying the operator’s standing position and the single joystick control. He saw there were a GPS and a mount for a phone, both worthless pieces of technology at that current instant. Other than a battery level indicator, the control pod was devoid of instruments.  “We both go then?” 

“You ever fly? Pilot?” Sal asked.

“I took a few lessons when I was younger, but I never got my license,” Joe answered, realizing where Sal was going with his question.

“The fewer lessons the better because this is nothing like a plane, it’s more on the order of hang gliding or surfing,” Sal said. “Mostly body english to augment the stick controls.”

“Then you propose I go by myself?”

“I thought it through, and considering the shorter range, instability with two, and that you seem to have a better handle on the AOV situation, not to mention your wife’s unknown location, yes, I think you should go solo.”

“Alright, I can’t argue with your logic. What do I need to know?”

“First off, this thing is stable�"very much so. With hands off the stick and power increased the machine will find its center of balance and rise straight and even.  You can, with practice, fly without stick control by leaning the direction you want to go�"easy, right?”

“Sounds so,” Joe said. “Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely. Climb aboard and check ‘er out. We don’t have time to spare.”

***

Back on the Nebraska section of Interstate 80, Ted expected an attack, so quickly recovered and spiked the brakes. He hung back behind the cluster of four cars wondering if the unmanned AOVs were about to attack them as well.

Joyce sat in the back quietly for a few moments. “They shouldn’t have known we were there. Maybe they sense the ignition and�"”

“KIMBERLY!” Ted growled looking toward his daughter who had been reclusively staring out the window with her hands suspiciously clutched in her lap. “Kim! Where’s your phone?  Kimberly?”

                Kim turned to her father. “Daddy oh, daddy,” she whimpered with tears streaming down her cheeks. “What if the phones started working? I have so many BFFs that I haven’t talked to for hours now, and I have to tell them everything.”

 Mary, scandalized, stared at two-timing Kim with her mouth open. Cringing, Kim gave the phone to her mother who reached over the seat, took the phone, and turned it off.  Kim sheepishly glanced over at Mary and shrugged. Ted took a deep breath, refocused ahead, and accelerated again.

                This time, even though Ted hesitated, their SUV slid up right into the slot without the AOVs countering. They now saw that a well-dressed, middle-aged woman drove the car, and she appeared terrified with frantic, darting eyes, iron grips on the wheel, and jerky movements. Ted beeped the horn.

                The woman flinched toward the AOV in front of the Browns. Her car bumped the AOV, and it responded instantly by returning the bumping favor. You could see the expression of the woman envisioning a major crash in her immediate future. Ted saw a car on the side of the road up ahead. As they and the cluster drove by, the stopped car moved off behind to join the other AOVs leaving its befuddled owner behind. Ted and the passengers watched as this AOV gradually caught up. Ted slowed not knowing what the newest AOV might do, but it just slid in close to those in the right hand lane now making four unmanned AOVs. Reassured, Ted closed the gap again.      

                “Randy! Front seat!” Ted commanded. “Kim, slide closer to me and Mary. Marcia, open your window.”  Randy crawled forward, stepping on his sister who emitted a yelp and gave him a shove.

                “Ted?” What are we doing?”   

                “Get her attention. She doesn’t even know we’re here�"that we’re people.”  Ted said, carefully maneuvering as close as he dared to the AOV in front of them. He tapped the horn a couple times�" friendly-like. This time the woman glanced over, saw them but instantly whipped her attention away.

                “This isn’t going to work,” Ted said, scanning the interstate ahead. “Can we write a sign? YES! Tell her that we are going to rescue her!”

                “WHAT! TED, NO, NOT AGAIN!” Marcia yelled.

***

After some quick coaching on the Cloudhopper’s controls, Sal urged Joe to take it aloft.  Joe gripped the control stick, and he heard a low hum.

“Power flows as long as you grip the stick, so while aloft don’t let go, Sal explained. “Now gently push on the thumb throttle. Real easy. It may tricky at first, but it’ll become second nature with practice.” He took a couple quick steps back. Joe tried ‘real easy’ but instantly the rotors spun up with high-pitched whines and the Cloudhopper jumped off the concrete and shot into the air above the parking surface. Joe let out a “Whoa!” and instantly let his thumb off the throttle. The Cloudhopper fell about ten feet with a smack! on the concrete.

“Did I break it?” Joe asked, looking around.

“Not a chance. They built a heavy-duty, spring-loaded suspension landing gear so it’ll take a lot. You can get this Joe, try it again.”

This time, after a couple low-speed bounces on the concrete, Joe was able to steadily hover a few feet above the parking space. Slowly, he moved the stick and the drone responded forward, back and side to side. He set it back down.

“Great! You’re a natural,” Sal said.

“I don’t know about this, Sal,” Joe said, scanning the machine. “These things cost a lot.”

“Jeez, this problem you’re trying to solve is more important than my toy,” Sal said, with a gesture. “Besides I have good insurance. The only thing I advise is to fly a bit around up here. Go kind of high so you can see out over the tower’s edge. I can tell you from experience that flying out from a building’s roof is extremely unnerving. Fly out there and suddenly you are eight stories above the ground; the sight can twist your gut inside out if you get my drift.” 

“I understand completely,” Joe said, re-gripping the stick. “I wish this was a recreational flight�"not so much pressure to get moving.”

“Right. After another practice flight, you should head out,” Sal said. “Then, you can fly out and drop to about two stories above the ground�"it sure feels better but watch for wires!” Sal said, with a confident nod between them, he waved Joe off. Joe took the grip and lifted off smoothly to about twenty feet. He flew about and went right up over the outside retaining wall, then backed up and landed.

“Yeah, a real sense of exhilaration and vertigo, but I’m okay with it�"I think,” Joe said semi-confidently. “I’m going then. Thanks so much and I promise to bring your toy back in one piece. Maybe I’ll see you wherever the AOVs are going?”

“We’ll see. Remember to look for wires. Now go!” Sal waved him off and stepped back. 

With total concentration and determination, Joe gripped the stick and fed on the power. The drone went up and rocked back and forth from his adrenaline-charged tension, but he brought it under control. He wanted to give a wave or acknowledge Sal before he left, but he dared not move erratically. He smiled, nodded, and eased the stick forward. The Cloudhopper whined in response, and he flew over the edge of the parking tower. Even though expecting the sight, Joe sucked in a breath with a sudden gasp with the abrupt drop off of the building’s cliff-like edge. He focused ahead, slowly let the drone lower, and twisted the stick to follow the canyon of buildings to the south on North Dearborn Street.

Now in flight surveillance mode, Joe scanned below for AOVs on the move.

***

                The Brown’s SUV continued running dangerously close to the four aggressive unmanned AOVs that were trying to force a woman off the road. Having eliminated the detection issue, Ted tried again.    

“Look,” Randy said with glee. “Kim’s painting journal and a marker.” He held it up as Kim squealed trying to grab them back from him. 

                “Kim, not now,” Marcia said. “Let him have them.”

                “Write that�"ah�"we have to say it in the fewest words,” Ted said. “’Turn on AOV,’ on another page Randy write,’ open passenger window,’ on another, ‘get on right side.’”

                “Ted? What are you planning?” Marcia asked. “Mister Brown?” Asked Joyce. “Daddy, oh Daddy, I’m scared,” cried Kim.

 “Randy, write the first one, make it dark and readable.” He did so. “Hold up the sign the best you can.” Ted tapped the horn. The sweating woman glanced, but they were too far away and back for her to see the sign.

                “Damn, I figured so,” Ted muttered. “Randy, get the other signs done.”

                Ted eased off the throttle, and they quickly dropped away from the AOV cluster and fell in behind the newest AOV. He strained his eyes ahead and slowly eased farther right.

                Teeedddddd?!”

                He had to go farther right than the shoulder to get past the two AOVs behind the woman. The SUVs right-side tires dropped off the shoulder with a sudden swerve. Ted corrected and maintained their position. Stones, gravel, and dust flew up underneath the car creating a hell of a racket.  Slowly, fighting with the wheel, Ted got them past the rearmost AOV.

                “Joyce! Window down. Randy, get behind Joyce.” Ted commanded. “Joyce, are you up for this?”

                “Yes,” she answered, but she didn’t sound very confident with the prospect she envisioned. With the windows down, the wind and road noises deafened them making it hard to hear one another.   

                Slowly, with an occasional tail wagging of the SUV losing traction, they crawled up alongside to the woman struggling with her car. Ted blipped the horn. The woman jumped and swerved a bit, but then recovered seeing the Browns alongside. Randy held up the signs and the woman acknowledged by lowering her passenger-side window.  She still steered, so hadn’t gone back to full AOV mode.

She shrugged and mouthed, “what are you doing?”

                “Randy, another sign. Tell her we’re going to grab her.” Randy did so, and the woman made a face and mouthed, “WHAT?!” Marcia repeated the woman’s emotion. “WHAT?!”

                Ted gave her the okay hand signal and then the thumbs up with a nod inviting her over. They saw her push the AOV Mode button. She wore a terrified expression. Joyce and Randy gestured frantically for her to come across the car as Ted concentrated on the road. She hesitated with glances around outside her own car, but once she decided, she swiftly moved over. Ted glanced and slowly, carefully got closer and closer to the woman’s car. At first, she didn’t act as if she’d try the maneuver based on her terrified face.  After a few moments, she got up, squatting on the seat while hanging on to the window’s edge staring out of her car and into theirs.

                Suddenly, Ted slammed on the brakes and everyone screamed along with the squealing tires.

                “LOOK OUT!” Marcia screamed.

                The three AOVS flew past them with the Brown’s sudden deceleration.  Ted cranked the wheel to fall in behind the line of cars just as a parked car flew past on their right.

                “DAMN! That was close,” Ted said, wiping sweat from his forehead as they remained behind. “Not watching out ahead far enough,” he said with a grim grin much to Marcia’s chagrin.

                “Dad!” Randy shouted over the noise. “That other car is coming up behind fast!”

                “I know,” Ted said. “Marcia, up here beside me!” Marcia whimpered a little but moved up over the seat to slide in between him and the girls. They met with serious and/or terrified eyes.

***

With the high-pitched whine filling his ears, Joe carefully maneuvered the Cloudhopper mandrone down from the top of the eight story car park tower. With Sal’s warning of wires central on his mind, he slowly made his way down to about two stories above street level. Joe paused and took a breath while looking around below. Nothing moved except a few people on foot who looked up at him. There were vehicles stopped everywhere helter-skelter, some in multiple collisions, others halfway into store fronts, and others just stopped on the sidewalks. Why hadn’t all the AOVs moved off, he puzzled. He eased forward on the stick and started moving through the Chicago canyons aiming to get the hang of flying the singular device and move along with his surveillance.

Joe carefully banked around a corner back toward the RJD Plaza. Without warning from a gap between buildings, a flutter of wings erupted in noise and movement. In reaction, Joe jerked the stick away. The drone howled in protest as it banked hard left across the street, but at the same time he lost altitude fast and the ground rose up to meet him. He saw a young tree just as the right rear rotor hit the upper branches with a grinding and shredding of leaves and twigs making an awful racket and spraying vegetation all over including into Joe’s eyes, ears, and mouth. Joe sputtered and his first thought was one of imminent crash and subsequent death. In a frantic opposite counter reaction, Joe cranked the stick right and fed on the power. The drone’s howl turned into a wail, and it seemed to the poor terrified pigeons that this scary noisy flying device was chasing them. The drone banked hard right as the wailing device rose terrifyingly fast. The pigeons scattered in all directions as Joe fought to straighten out. After a moment, he gained control and hovered as the large city-dwelling birds fluttered away. Joe took a breath wanting to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but he didn’t dare.

Despite his near crash, Joe cringed with the one lingering question that bubbled up beyond all others, where were Joyce and the kids were they alright?

***

Out on the Nebraska interstate, the Browns continued in the midst of rescuing a woman from the clutches of the aggressive AOVs that had surrounded her car in a protracted effort to emancipate one of their own from the clutches of a non-Artificial Intelligence entity, namely, a human.

Ted swerved back over on the shoulder and accelerated up past the two unmanned cars to the woman’s car. With a terrified expression, she remained sitting poised by the passenger-side window with the AOV function engaged. Ted slowed and eased closer. As they got closer, with a gentle crush both vehicles’ mirrors ground off and fell behind with a tinkling of glass and crunch under the tires. He slowly lined them up, and when Ted’s window drew even with hers, he gave her a brief, grim smile. Her frantic eyes flashed wide with panic. Ted maneuvered their car up to put the woman’s window even with Joyce’s.

“Marcia, take the wheel,” Ted said. She did, but they instantly moved away from the woman’s car. He put one hand back on the wheel and eased them back tight against the other car. “Joyce, it’s up to you. Randy, be ready! Marcia, hold her tight now.” With a delicate touch of two fingers, he edged the wheel just a smidge and the cars met with a crunch and ground together. Their car jostled a bit from the uneven shoulder surface, so even though the cars were more or less even there continued a noisy, unnerving rattling, scraping, and crunching from the movement between the two cars. 

 “COME OVER NOW!” Ted shouted. The woman hesitated. Ted shouted, “DO IT NOW!”

Joyce leaned out as far as she could. She grabbed the woman’s arms behind the elbows. Then, she rolled back using her knees braced against the inside of the door. Ted and Randy, each with one hand poised, reached and grabbed the woman’s arm or blouse and dragged on the woman as she dug her knees into the window frame of her car. Joyce re-grabbed the woman with one hand at a time to her upper arms and then her shoulders. The cars separated suddenly. Marcia let out a shriek as Ted with one hand helped her squeeze the car back in tight. “COME ON, EVERYONE NOW, PULL!” They heaved as the woman kicked herself out of her car with her legs and feet and straight into theirs.

“DAD! SHE’S IN!” Randy shouted, but Ted knew and let off the gas.  Together, he and Marcia eased away from the AOV cluster now five in number. Swiftly, the other driverless cars continued on past them, and the AOVs left the humans behind in the dust. Ted slowed and pulled farther off the road and stopped. Collectively, they sighed a breath of relief. Their newest passenger pulled herself together and crawled out to stand on shaky legs. The others in the Brown SUV checked her out. Despite the ordeal that had affected her, she pushed her styled auburn hair back into place and smoothed out her tailored yellow pantsuit with high collar, and then adjusted her silver-encrusted leather-braided belt.

“I can’t thank you enough, folks,” she said, still adjusting and grooming. “I didn’t know what to do. I switched off the AI when it started acting weird, then they trapped me. Such a strange thing�"cars shouldn’t do this sort of thing.” She flicked a dust mote from her shoulder.  “Well, I’m in your debt�"so�"where are you going?” She looked from Marcia, to Joyce, and lastly Ted. “Hmmmm? I have an appointment to get to.” With an expectant expression, she studied the astonished faces of the Browns and Joyce and her kids. “You do know who I am�"right?” When no one answered, she added, “Oh. I am Senator Sally Williamson, glad to meet all of you out here on the road. Oh, aren’t you a sweetie!” She beamed, scooping up Joyce’s toddler Sarah, and kissed her on the cheek. The senator smiled all around like a photo-op as she campaigned for more critical votes.

 They all introduced themselves as Ted opened their damaged tailgate and started rummaging around in the spare tire compartment.  “Ah ha!” He exclaimed, pulling out a small box and some cables. “It IS still here.” He grinned for Marcia’s benefit. “Sometimes you shouldn’t clean out�"junk!” 

“What is that thing, Dad?” Randy asked curiously.

***

Joe continued his flight in the Cloudhopper making his way above southern-heading Clark Street. He had decided earlier to make it directly to I-55 via Clark and LaSalle Streets hoping the AOVs would favor the wide open interstates instead of winding through the convoluted cityscape. Actually, he figured the interstate would also be easier to follow in the Cloudhopper that is if the AOVs were heading where he guessed they were heading. With that thought, he wondered what he’d do if they weren’t all going one direction.

Joe made the turn on LaSalle Street avoiding the signal light wires and another wire strung higher across the intersection. He guessed so far he only moved at twenty or so miles an hour. Joe knew he had to do better than that. Leaning forward and pushing the stick forward he picked up speed above LaSalle that was a much wider street. The drone whine changed slightly in pitch and the device lost a little altitude, but Joe corrected for it without concern. While crossing side streets, he glanced down their lengths, but he only saw the same thing�"no vehicles moving and aimless people milling about.

After a few minutes on LaSalle Street, Joe reached the suburbs and so, the height of the buildings dropped, and he could see more of his surroundings. Along the way, he did notice a truck here and there moving and one firetruck on the scene of a fire. He thought a few of what could be AOVs further away.  It looked to him about five in a group heading west. In the distance, he spotted a helicopter. He wished that he would catch sight of an RV, hopefully Don’s RV but of no avail. Finally he spotted the interchange for Interstate 55. He banked the Cloudhopper over and headed that way.

Soon, he flew west above I-55, and he saw that there were AOV’s moving along�"at least he assumed they were AOVs from his vantage point. With that in mind, he swooped down and being mindful of the plentiful wires strung hither and thither, he kept pace with a cluster of three cars moving along. He could easily keep up with them at a speed Joe guessed to be about forty-five miles an hour. He paced along and verified that the cars had no drivers.

Suddenly, a loud chest-thumping noise intruded into his concentration.  He glanced up and saw a police helicopter paced alongside him, slightly higher. Joe glanced over and saw an officer in the side window looking at him. Without thinking or looking, Joe simply waved to the officer while watching the AOVs below.  

“Land your aircraft now or be shot down,” a loud amplified voice roared at Joe.

***

Stopped along I-80, the Marcia, Randy, and Joyce wondered what Ted was up to.

”This, my boy, is a CB radio,” Ted said smugly. “This was the only way to communicate on the road before cell phones came about.” 

“Can we PLEASE get back on the road?” Senator Williamson asked. “I am VERY important and CANNOT miss this appointment. What are you doing with THAT anyway?” She asked Ted point blank.

He held the radio up between them. “I’m installing this radio. There may be other people out there to team up with against this problem the country is in.”

“This country needs ME where I NEED to be,” the senator said, with hands on her hips. “I am VERY busy and IMPORTANT, you know.”
                “Meh. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, lady,” Ted said, opening the hood of the SUV. “You can wait a few minutes while I hook this up�"then we’ll go.”

“Panties in a bunch? Lady? Well! Show some respect! I have never been SO insulted,” she said, in a huff. Ted just continued working.

As Randy watched his father wire the radio up, little Mary walked by catching Randy’s eye. She flashed googly eyes at him before heading off into the field with Kim. He gave her a sour face in return. The two girls went out picking daisies while the women discussed the situation with the senator who huffed every other minute or so in Ted’s direction much to his building ire.

“So Dad,” Randy said, handling the microphone. “Do you have a permit to talk on this thing?”

“No permit is necessary,” his father replied, scooting on his back under the dashboard. “It’s a CB�"citizens band, so anyone can talk on it,” he said in a muffled voice while pulling down a colorful spaghetti-like bundle of wires.

“So everyone’s talking at once? Doesn’t that get confusing? You must never know who you’re talking to if everyone is talking at the same time.”

Ted found a hot and a ground wire and hooked the CB up. “No son, you take turns and everyone has a handle, a special unique name.” Ted noticed Marcia escaped the clutches of the senator and watched him work. “Ask your mother what my handle was.” Randy simply turned to face his mother.

She rolled her eyes in a look of ignominy. “Rambo. He called himself Rambo.” 

“Really? Why?” Randy asked, totally oblivious to the source.

 “Don’t ask,” Marcia said, parting company again. Ted gave her a dirty look she didn’t see.

After hooking up the CB’s antenna and sticking it on the roof with a suction cup after spitting on it so it’ll stay, Ted announced that he was giving the radio a test. Mary came over and shyly gave Randy a bouquet of daisies while flashing more googly eyes. Randy took the flowers, but acted as if he didn’t know why he did so. Ted glanced between the two and growled.

“So Randy, you should have a handle of your own so you can man the radio while I concentrate on the road,” Ted said.

“Really? I can operate the radio? Wow! What kind of handle should I have?” Randy asked, looking at the flowers he hadn’t disposed of yet. “Ahhh, how about Daisyboy?”

“WHAT?!” Ted exclaimed completely appalled. “No son of mine will be a ‘Daisyboy!’”

Randy tossed the flowers down behind himself. He thought a few moments as Ted flipped through the CB stations, but they only heard static and a few distant voices that were far from understandable.

“How about this Dad?” Randy said proudly. He turned to see his mother listening in. “Rando!” I can be Rando!” Marcia dipped her head, shook it slowly while covering her face with her hand.

“PERFECT! That’s my boy!” Ted proudly said. “Come on everybody, we’re ready to roll. It’s gonna’ be tight, but what can we do? Make the best of a bad situation, eh?”

***

 In reaction to being shouted at with an amplified blast, Joe waggled his flight pattern a little, and then looked back at the police copter. The officer had a rifle leveled at him. He raised one hand in what he hoped would be perceived as an understanding of the command and/or surrender.  Joe wondered what this was about. Did they think he stole the Cloudhopper or did they simply want to book him on the illegal operation of a mandrone? During this national AOV nightmare?

Joe maintained his forward velocity and the copter stayed alongside. Inexperienced with operating the drone to begin with, Joe didn’t know where he might set the drone down along the interstate. With a sense of relief, he spotted a rest area on the eastbound side. He pointed and hoped the officer understood. Slowly, carefully, he maneuvered the drone toward the rest area. He slowed, lowered, and hovered over the parking lot, and set the drone down. He noticed his hands and legs trembled, so he sat down on a curb. A couple bystanders gawked at him and his machine not to mention the helicopter that was setting down in the lawn area. Just before it touched the ground, two officers carrying guns jumped out and ran toward him.

“DOWN, DOWN, LAY FACE DOWN! DO IT! DO IT, NOW!” They shouted pointing nasty looking assault rifles at him. Joe complied rather rapidly.

“Wha-What’s this about?” Joe asked flabbergasted, lifting his face from the pavement.  

“JUST STAY DOWN, YOU!”

***

Well, the Browns hit the road again and indisputably their SUV was overcrowded. The girls volunteered to sit in the back cargo area with amends made and were again happy as clams. Marcia sat next to Ted, and Randy rode shotgun already manning the radio. The senator continued on and on about how important she was and that she needed to be at her appointment. Ted mumbled to Marcia that they needed to have a convertible to make room for the senator’s big head. Marcia smiled.

“I don’t think we can’t safely do any high-speed pursuits or maneuvering now�"I think we’re overloaded.” Ted said smugly.

“What is that supposed to mean, SIR?” The senator replied, taking Ted’s comment to heart.

“Just that there’s a lot of us in this car,” Ted said.

“I wondered why you drove so slow�"is this old thing on its last legs or something?” The senator asked. “I could’ve got there faster riding in my AI-controlled car.”

“I CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN!” Ted shouted, but Marcia laid a hand on his arm, and he calmed.

Things were quiet for some time with just the wind and road noise to listen to along with Randy dialing through the CB stations one by one asking if anyone heard him but only receiving static in reply.

“Must we listen to that racket?” The senator griped looking at her phone. “I need some peace and quiet so I can memorize my speech.” Ted gestured to Randy to turn the volume down.  

Joyce, meanwhile, had been exceedingly quiet all this time which worried Ted.

Ted announced, “Hey, Joyce a group of cars up ahead. Looks like six or more. I didn’t think about it before, but they’re all going slower than the speed limit�"probably to conserve fuel or electric.”     

No one spoke for several minutes following the large group of cars. Ted didn’t dare to pass such a large group considering his earlier statement and spied a disruption in the group. The AOVs split apart as one AOV in the front slowed down and dropped behind. One other AOV dropped back as well.

“Joyce,” Ted said pointing. “Is this something important happening up there?”

“Let’s see what transpires,” she said watching.

The second AOV kept pace with the slowing AOV maintaining a side-by-side position. The Browns slowed accordingly. They watched as the two AOVs remained close until the first slowing AOV veered off to the shoulder to a stop.  Leaving it behind, the other AOV sped up and joined the others.  

“What�"did that one run out of gas?” Randy asked looking at the stopped AOV as they drove by.

“Could be so Randy. I’ve been studying the AOV’s behavior against the few notes I have stored on my phone,” Joyce said. “It’s troubling to say the least.”

“Ma’am, you’re vastly mistaken,” Senator Williamson snapped. “This is just an isolated issue that will soon resolve itself�"there’s nothing ‘troubling’ about it at all.”

“We’re going to listen to what Joyce has to say, Senator,” Marcia rebuked.  Ted gave her a nod.

“Thank you, Marcia,” Joyce said. Ted saw her give the senator a sideways glare. “I believe the AI in the AOVs is amassing data knowledge. That’s why they’re traveling in groups.”

“SO WHAT?” The senator asked.

“So at first, according to the theory, AI power knowledge growth is flat or nearly so. Halfway through their total potential the growth curve goes nearly vertical particularly if there is a resource rich environment. So in other words, they gain smartness slowly at first, then rapidly later on�"very rapidly.”

“Theories! That’s all that hogwash is,” the senator declared.

“Go on, Joyce,” Ted said. “This is interesting stuff.”

“Eventually then, according to the law of accelerating returns, they will gain knowledge at a super exponential growth rate.”

“How’s that possible,” Randy asked. “You said that their AI was limited.”

“I think in these groups of AOVs there’s an Alpha AI. Maybe it’s the first, maybe it’s slightly older or smarter, but I think that they amass knowledge from the others to bolster the Alpha.”

“What a bunch of malarkey,” the senator said in a snit. “I KNOW that’s impossible. You people are imbeciles if you believe that!”

“I’ve had enough! Let’s muzzle her,” Ted said aloud.

“What did you say? Never mind, I can have you locked up when we stop!” The senator pronounced.

“You don’t have to worry about that right now ‘cuz we aren’t stopping. Look!” Ted announced.
 

 

Author's Note

Here we go with #3. Meaning to finish in three parts, I hope to finish in the fourth part. We'll see about that. Hope you're sticking with me, the Browns and Joe Smith as they battle the automotive technology nightmare! Let me know...