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“I don’t see how this is more helpful than just learning with a real car.”
‘Because if you crash this thing I’m only out fifty bucks Patojo.”
“But I’m not even in control!” Steven complained. “Layla’s running the bloody thing.”
‘This is a confidence building exercise, remember?’ Jake said. ‘Layla’s being the AI supercomputer, but she’s watching what you do while we’re in here.’
It had been agreed that Steven needed to learn the basics of driving. But after an absolutely disastrous test-run with Jake’s car (Steven hadn’t meant to sideswipe anyone, it was just that the bit of rubbish in the road looked like a person in the dark) the rest of the system wanted him to practice with a less deadly piece of equipment.
Thus the RC car.
There was just enough room for Steven and his smart phone. The two-way camera was on, letting Layla see what Steven was doing and control the car accordingly.
“It’ll be fine, Steven.” She assured him from the other end of the flat. “Once you’ve got some experience with this we can try the real car again.”
“Why not surround me with bubble wrap while we’re at it.” He muttered.
‘Don’t think I wasn’t tempted.’ Marc said.
"Some confidence building this is."
'Just work on starting the car.'
"I feel ridiculous." Steven adjusted the wonky 'mirrors' that were in actuality strips of barely reflective tape. He couldn’t see anything in them anyway. "We could have started with a bloody go-kart at least."
'That’s next, once we know you can handle this rig.' Jake said, patient. 'Keep going.'
Steven continued with the startup routine, trying not to get angry with the others. They were attempting to help. This was a skill he should possess in case something happened.
And they weren’t making fun of him. Neither was Layla. So what if he looked silly? Wouldn't be the first time.
He took a deep breath before pretending to switch the key on.
The car jerked forward, bumping them into the table leg. "Hey!"
"Where’s your foot, Steven?" Layla pressed from the screen.
He looked down and cursed. "On the bloody gas pedal."
"Right."
"If the damn thing was on the proper side--"
'Hey, we could be in any type of car when you have to drive. Get used to checking.' Jake chided. 'Try backing up.'
Steven rolled his eyes and 'shifted' into reverse. He checked behind him, making sure there were no other surprises. But it was clear. "Nothing there."
'Good. Ease out.'
He did so. Well, he mimed doing so while Layla guided the car with the remote. It was basically a straight shot from the kitchen down the hall to the bedroom and washroom. There were a few random obstacles in the way, including a tunnel made of a stack of books.
“Feels like I’m on an amusement park ride.”
‘It looks like it.’ Marc agreed. ‘Definitely not a typical driving course.’
‘Not typical for anyone besides us and Ant-Man.’ Jake mused as Steven rolled past their bedroom door. ‘Wonder if we could rig something up with this in case we ever need a quick getaway when we’re tiny.’
“Have you forgotten this thing isn’t actually under our control?” Steven asked, pretending to signal before changing lanes.
‘Okay, so what if we have Layla acting as the getaway driver?’
“Layla has better things to do than play with remote control cars all night.”
“Hey, you don’t know that.” Layla put in from the phone screen, grinning. “This is fun.”
Steven slid them under the book tunnel, trying not to get distracted by the titles. “Do any of you ever stop to think about how ridiculous our lives have become?”
‘I try not to.’ Marc replied.
‘Patojo if we spent all our time on that we’d never get anything done.’
“Hey, I’m just trying not to think about how there are aliens and other godly pantheons and who knows what running around. The last twenty years on this planet have just been a parade of once-in-a-lifetime events.” Layla added.
‘Makes all this seem comparatively reasonable.’ Marc agreed.
“Well, sure, when you look at it like that who’s going to blink an eye at us.” Steven sighed and managed to turn the car around without bumping into the wall.
‘Good job.’ Jake said as Steven readied them to go back down the hall. ‘Why don’t you let me take over?’
“Why, is the lesson done?” Steven asked, confused.
“No, but I figure you’d want to watch while Layla and I do this.” Jake gave her the thumbs up, and the car shot down the hall at top speed (still painfully slow compared to any real car).
‘Jake, what the fuck--’
“C’mon Spector, live a little.” Jake laughed, hauling on the wheel (even though he knew it did nothing).
‘Ugh, I’m gonna throw up.’ Steven moaned as the car did whatever tricks Layla could get out of it.
“When we’re done, kid. When we’re done.”