Hevel

Jacob squinted at the blue EXIT 13 sign ahead and then flicked up his blinker when he spotted the little lightning bolt at the bottom of the steel sheet above the highway.

Once the car had shifted onto the exit ramp, Jacob was welcomed with bright blue and orange lights glowing in the middle of the vast desert.

The vehicle slowed down, pulled into a lot, and stopped over a set of blinking yellow lights that indicated that the induction plate was vacant and ready to charge. Jacob had cut it close - the car had informed him there were twenty miles of juice left before it would pull off to the side of the highway and signal a charging truck to be called to its location. This was not ideal, as the wait times for the truck generally exceeded a couple of hours, and the charging process was several times slower than the plates at the Maxwell stations.

Instead, when the car was parked over an induction plate, charging usually took around forty-five minutes. The process was simple, although the technology had taken several years to be installed in stations across the country.

After letting a sigh of relief escape his lungs, Jacob opened the driver's side door and watched the blinking lights blend into a slow red pulse. The desert air scorched his skin, but the sun was starting to melt over the horizon, promising the relief of night in south Nevada.

A towering steel post rose from the dirt, wearing the letters "TERMINAL E" in large white font.

Induction charging terminals, dubbed ICTs, were propagating eastward, although Maxwell Motor Vehicles still sold most of their cars in the western part of the country, where their charging stations also greatly outnumbered those in the east. The Maxwell charging stations contained multiple terminals, including at least a couple specific to autonomous trucks of their own design.

Food chains, grocery stores, casinos, and other entertainment outlets had been swift to partner with Maxwell's EV charging stations, and the company had purchased large plots of land around their stations to accommodate these businesses, resulting in small towns blossoming in otherwise desolate areas.

This particular patch of desert land had claimed the name Hevel, and it appeared that it was an oasis for gamblers as well as Maxwell vehicle owners.

A chain restaurant by the name of Electroplate commonly neighbored the ICTs, where vegan burgers and bland salads with ingredients sourced from vertical farms in metropolitan areas were served by employees in electric blue t-shirts. Jacob had been traveling for a while, and this was to be the antidote for his growling stomach.

The door opened automatically when Jacob was almost close enough to touch the glass and when he stepped inside, a blast of the building's air conditioning relieved him from the harsh desert climate.

The booths mimicked the design of the charging terminal: occupated booths took on a red glow, while the yellow booths invited diners to sit down. Jacob found a seat at one of the booths closest to the windows pointing towards Terminal E, where his brand new Maxwell Ampere was absorbing power generated by the induction pad. The booth came to life as the yellow glow faded to red and the table itself became an interactive menu on an eggshell white screen. Current diner favorites were highlighted near the top of the menu, with graphs representing items that were in demand. At the time of Jacob's arrival, the most popular item appeared to be the portobello mushroom burger.

The ordering process was completed on the table's interface, where Jacob gently pressed the screen a few times to order a tuna burger on a whole wheat bun. Once he tapped the PLACE ORDER button, he exhaled deeply and leaned up against the leather booth cushion behind him, letting his eyelids float down over his eyes.

"Excuse me sir, can I sit here?"

Jacob sprang his skull from against the leather surface and jerked his head to the left and right. However, the source of the voice was from behind, staring at him with large blue eyes sagging over sharp cheekbones.