Mirage

//Two: New Car Smell

The most profitable car company in Occupied Space, 37% of cars on the Universal Wall are Toyota's of various models. The UW is also the only sector in Occupied Space where Toyota offers their entire catalog, from the humble Model AA to the latest 2023 models. They also offer many options unique to the UW, such as Ultra Violet safety field lighting, diesel engines for cars that wouldn't normally have them, and all electric options for those that live deep inside Metal City.

Somethings simply don't matter. Doesn't matter how old you are, what species you are, what language you grew up speaking, somethings are simply universal for all of us. We all love new car smell, and if you try to lie and say you don't, well, you're a dirty liar, and lying is a sin, and also illegal on some planets. I can remember one late summer night, seems like it was around eight thirty, maybe nine at night, and my Dad had been working late. At least, that's probably the story Mom spun for me. Looking back, I wonder if she knew what he was up to? Probably. That night, me, Ghost and Hornet, Fish hadn't been born yet I don't think....actually, maybe Hornet hadn't yet either. Anyway, we ran outside to greet my Dad, who had come home in a different car than what he had left for work in. That car was a 1997 Nissan 240SX, and we would hold onto that car for a good 18 or nineteen years. That sleek, red sports car, to a little me, was the fastest and coolest thing in the world, hands down, there wasn't a car that was better. Dad would come to pick me up from school on Friday, making noise that could be heard over the mundane passenger cars and trucks that everyone else was getting picked up in. Of course, kids are viscous, and bragging about how cool my Dad's sports car was to all of the kids I had the misfortune of sharing a classroom with drew their ire rather swiftly. I really long for the days of going to the video store Friday nights, and being sideways like eighty five percent of the way home, swearing I wouldn't tell Mom. I never let it slip that the reason I loved the video store so much was because I knew that Dad would drift most of the way home. We didn't have much growing up, but the weekends in the woods, and trips in that 240 more than made up for it. The day he sold that car was only the second time I'd seen him cry. The only vehicle that ever truly recaptured the magic of the 240 was the day I brought home my 07' Tundra. Boy did we have some wild times in that truck. I'll never forgive that drunk ass who smashed it to bits when I was sitting at a stop light. God, I'd never sobbed harder in my life than I did that day.

Nevertheless, with a whole 805 miles on the odometer, this Sienna was in awesome shape for as long as it had been sitting, and the new car smell was still strong in the interior. Since Ghost was adverse to reading, Fish had volunteered to slog through the owners manual that had been found in the glove box some time after we left. And, let me tell you, this was not a cheapo people hauler. This was a van that someone worked themselves to the bone to beable to afford. How do I know? Air conditioned seats, heated steering wheel, WiFi, Bluetooth, a badass sound system, Ultraviolet head, curtain and tail lights, BBS wheels, run flat tires, on top of it being the Platinum addition, with all wheel drive and air suspension. It was going to be a soft ride for as long as we could hold onto it.

Fish and Hornet had discovered fairly quickly that the chargers built into the van were putting out enough power to charge our radios, and thus the two ways had all been dug out of our chest rigs and plugged into the many USB 4 outlets, held with their built in clips on the back of the passenger seat. Hornet had also figured out that the captain's chairs where they were hanging reclined with a leg rest, and so they had made themselves at home.

"Van's fuckin' loaded", Fish said, "I'll bet someone's missing this."

"Too bad", Hornet said, messing with the touch screen in the back, "ours now."

"Air conditioned leather is really nice", I grinned, adjusting the seat backwards slightly, "thing rides real nice on the air suspension. Just gotta wipe the dust out. Van's nasty."