CHAPTER 2 – TEST DAY
Two months later after getting the call. Johnny made his way to the testing site for the new venture in Banzai Bangers. Johnny was very excited to test out the new prototype car. Sure he may not be facing death at every corner, but testing a new idea was thrilling for him.
Johnny was going to be test piloting a prototype vehicle that could ascend into virtual reality. He was told how it would operate. He wouldn't be able to mess with most of the features until he got into the portal.
Johnny had arrived early that day. He first needed to make his way for the scheduled press conference. The excitement was a high point for Johnny. He tried to answer the reporter's questions best that he could. His excitement made him speak way too fast. He soon was exhausted from the attention. The press conference lasted about 30 minutes.
Finally with the press conference over, Johnny was able to sigh with relief. His day was getting started and needed to focus. He grabbed an energy drink and made his way to his next location. There was going to be a Q and A session showing some of the prototype capabilities. After that he was going to have photoshoots with the new prototype vehicle.
Johnny thought back to how he was chosen. He was the oldest driver in Banzai Bangers and had a lot of experience under his belt.
His thoughts were occasionally interrupted by a few fellow drivers who wished him luck. A few others wished for his demise or gave him a jealous look. Some of the drivers had come to the testing event to get a good look at it. While others just wanted to get more fame.
One of the jealous drivers Johnny had issues with was his younger teammate Terry. Terry wasn't a bad driver in Johnny's eyes, but the poor kid just wanted to weasel his way into the spotlight. He had tried to go for Johnny on many occasions. Johnny would always outsmart the kid. He did everything he could to keep him out of trouble. Although now that Johnny had retired Terry would be taking over as the lead driver next year for the team.
One of the drivers who wished Johnny dead was his main rival, Brandon. Brandon approached Johnny to taunt him. "I hope you end up trapped in that virtual world", said Brandon to Johnny as he began to taunt him in frustration. People gasped because they knew a fight could happen, especially when Brandon was around. Johnny just shrugged it off as Brandon walked away with a sneer.
Johnny headed to where the testing would take place. He got a good look around. The setup was quite elaborate. He was given prior knowledge of the virtual world from the phone calls he had gotten over the past few months. It mostly consisted of various tracks and arenas that ran through an endless plain. Johnny had asked if there was an endpoint to the test realm. He was told if he drove past that point, he would end up back up at the default starting position. If that failed, he would be spit out of the portal as a fail-safe.
Johnny walked around the area where he eventually found the prototype. He found a few people waiting for him. One of those was his crew chief, Jimmy. Jimmy was busy working with the other technicians while everyone else was getting things ready. Then, there was his younger brother Jamie. Jamie was always trying to help Johnny wherever he could.
Jamie had competed with his brother Johnny long ago in Banzai Bangers, but his career was cut short in a horrific accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Johnny had his brother stay away when he raced. He didn't want his brother to become a target of his racing. He had many enemies around the track. He was mostly worried about the Road Rage Renegades. A racing organization that consisted of criminals.
Everyone had gathered around to see a few demonstrations of the prototype's abilities. The vehicle was state of the art from the descriptions and its capabilities. The prototype was powered by a plutonium reactor that was reinforced with Ionsdaleite. The car's body was also reinforced with Ionsdaleite. The material was 58% harder than diamond with a hexagonal atomic structure.
Johnny couldn't imagine how much it cost, but he was pretty sure anything less than a nuclear attack wouldn't put a dent in it. To prove their point. The vehicle's chassis was repeatedly hit with all sorts of things. From bullets to tons of weight. In the end nothing left a scratch behind.
The main speciality of the prototype was it's matter-antimatter core. This allowed for the prototype to be able to change the appearance of the car. While also being able to fix it as well. The core functioned as a survival asset as well. It could create any and everything imaginable. Everyone had asked to see how the other features worked. They were informed the prototype needed to save as much essence for the core. They would have to see the prototype in action in the portal. Everyone was displeased with not seeing the changes first hand.
The main piece of equipment no one was allowed to mess with was the dimensional drive. Johnny was told to not touch as well. Not until he was going into the virtual test track. He was given specifics not to let the dimensional drive get damaged in the briefing.
Johnny got a better look at the prototype after the demonstrations. The vehicle had a questionable design to it. It was a mid-2000s stock car body. Johnny looked at it with disdain. Could they have chosen something else for a car body? It looks ridiculous. Also, leaving it without a paint job is just as bad. I'm not liking the whole gray and paintless thing. At least D.R.I.F.T put their sponsor in it.
Johnny really hated the appearance; he was thrilled with the new opportunity though. He made all sorts of poses and gestures as the photographers took photos.
He saw Jimmy walking over to him.
"The executives want us to get started. The remaining photo shoots can wait until after. A lot of money has been put into this project and we need as many results as we can",Jimmy said. "Besides, you never know when the next race will be your last. The sponsor is paying big for this one." Jimmy continued to rant.
Johnny got up from the photoshoots that featured D.R.I.F.T. on the prototype. He sighed with disappointment. So much for the publicity. Couldn't they have waited a few more minutes for me to finish. He just shrugged the thought off before passing two fans who wanted an autograph.
"Oh my gosh, it's Johnny!" A blonde woman screamed.
"I thought he had retired.'' Another fan who was a redhead.
Johnny stopped and turned to look at his adoring fans. The blond eagerly shoved a poster into his arms. There was no need for a pen, every fan knew he always carried one on him for situations just like this. "Can you sign this?", she asked, fluttering her eyelashes prettily. She needn't have bothered; he would do it. He always did. It was part of what made him the most beloved racer on the circuit.
Taking the pen from his pocket with a flourish, Johnny signed it and gave it back. The redhead had pulled out a t-shirt for Johnny to sign. He quickly signed it as he was in a rush.. "I would stay and chat, but they need me over at the prototype vehicle."
After he finished signing both of the girl's merchandise. He put on his helmet and got into the car. "A new adventure awaits.", said Johnny in a prideful tone as he was starting to put on his harness and buckles.
His crew chief radioed to him. "Can you hear me?", his crew chief asked.
"Loud and clear." He replied as he was getting adjusted into the prototype.
"I hope you read the manual on how everything works." Jimmy replied as his first response.
"I spent four hours every day the last two months reading the manual on troubleshoots and everything ." Replied Johnny with a groan.
"The first thing I want you to do is say Al. It will bring up the prototype's AI."Jimmy said.
"Al." Said Johnny, which was followed by a low humming noise. He looked over to his right to see a light blue ball that was translucent. Johnny looked at the hologram in awe.
"Hello, I am Al. The prototypes, AI. I'll double as your copilot." Said AI.
"Al seems a bit dull." As he yawned. "I call you Albert. If you are okay with that?" He asked.
Albert replied. "I will do as you command."
For fun Johnny swatted his hand back and forth inside of Albert. "Would you stop doing that please." Said Jimmy over the radio.
"Sorry." Said Johnny.
Johnny was given a checklist to go over before he was able to go onto the track. The checklist consisted of safety checks, control gages, survival equipment, and other items. Albert confirmed the double check of the checklist. After about 10 minutes he was given the okay to start the engine and head to the track.
Johnny turned the ignition on, and the car hummed with a soft rumble. He pulled away from the pit box and onto pit road.
"Okay, once you ran a few laps averaging about 88 mph hit the dimensional drive." The crew chief said.
"Understood." Replied Johnny, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.
Johnny took to the track and ran a few laps before getting up to speed. The track was bumpy from all the concrete pours over pothole patches. "Driving any faster on this and I'd say the suspension would break if it were normal."
After that the car was averaging 88 mph. He then hit the dimensional drive to ascend into the virtual test track. As the car started to shift into the new world. A sudden gust of wind caused Johnny to lose control of the car. He began to fishtail. He quickly recovered but not without smacking the wall. The slight smack of the wall caused him to accidentally bump into his canteen of water. It spilled all over the dimensional drive causing it to short and haywire. Johnny heard a loud bang come from the trunk of the prototype. He cursed as began to fizzle. Flames started spewing from the dimensional drive as Johnny tried desperately to avoid going into the new reality. He hit the brakes hard on the car. It was no use as he slid into the portal. The car exploded into a flash of light. Everyone raced to the tv monitors of the virtual world where Johnny was supposed to end up, but saw nothing…