Life and Production: S3 E9: Against Azure Blue

The Flying Machine

After exiting from the Goulding Automotive lot, Lesane went straight home to his other prized motorized possession: a robot driven golf cart. Just as he was turning onto the compound, a rumble overhead drew his attention. What looked like a small jet put Lesane in a brief state of puzzlement. Rarely did he not know what particular aircraft took to the skies. Against azure blue above him, Lesane could make out the personalized tag on the flying machine with the aid of a robot.

"CapiTALize" emblazoned with white letters against a black background attached to a canary yellow frame meant that it could only belong to Mr. Zev Tal.

Wow, Pal

The identified flying object banked a hard right, reversed in midair, and then gently landed as an Osprey or helicopter. It just sort of floated there in space. It landed with a grace that would befit an acrobat. Its passenger/pilot removed himself from the elegant machine. Lesane laughed. It was the man himself ready to demonstrate the vehicle’s capabilities again.

“That,” Tal said. “Is quite the fine flying automobile.”

Lesane’s hands ran over the body of the car designed for the street and the air.

“A Sare Uplift. 1,050 horses. It takes off in ten seconds . Fully automated and glides through the clouds. And nuclear powered,” Tal said.

“Wow, pal,” Lesane said. “My Goulding has some serious competition. I had read about Sare possible executing on a flying car... but you must... tell me that this is a prototype.”

Enabled

“Yes, my friend. There are only six other like this. Adebayo Oduwole, CEO of Sare granted me permission to test this yellow baby.” Lesane glanced at Tal. He motioned for the robot to alter the voice settings to allow him entry into the Uplift.

“Why of course, old friend. Why don’t you and I take flight?” Tal asked. The robot adjusted the immaculate leather seats and switched on the three dimensional heads up display (HUD). Tal positioned himself in the right seat while giving Lesane the traditional driver’s seat. It didn’t matter. As long as the voice command system was enabled, the aircraft would recognized Lesane’s voice, only.

“Now all that you have to do is give the command for the engine to start,” Tal said.

It spoke.

“Engines on,” Lesane said. His face was granite. A surge of confidence over a piece of exquisite machinery coursed through his body. It was a testament to the Uplift’s masterful design. Lesane relaxed.

“Full throttle,” he said. He paused for a moment and picked a destination. “Dover, Delaware. Air Force Base.” The Uplift raised a few feet off of the ground. Then thousands of feet into air. Both men undid their restraints and reclined in their seats. Then, just as quickly refastened them once the flying car began losing altitude. Both men, cooler than air conditioners, summoned up the onboard robot to aid them. Over a few bits of turbulence and sharp winds against the aircraft, Lesane and Tal remained steady. They navigated from slight emergency situations to a state of calmness, of correctness. Lesane took hold of the manual controls as Tal directed commands at the robot.

“Right. Level. Ease,” Tal said. Lesane pulled on the handles and observed the control panel. The Uplift coasted for a bit then when Lesane obtained complete control. Without even breaking a sweat, Lesane and Tal landed back on the compound, never reaching Dover or even five hundred feet from the Lesane residence. A visual display appeared just as they landed. It spoke.

Serious

“Had this been a serious emergency, you would have heard three chimes signalling authorities to arrive.” The Flight Brothers turned to each other and laughed.

“I’ll be sure to tell Mr. Oduwole about this most interesting of flights,” Tal said unbuckling his restraints.

“And I’ll hold off on boasting about the Sare’s capabilities to Goulding,” Lesane said exiting the road/aircraft.

“If there’s one thing that I know, it’s that a near collision with the Earth gets the blood flowing,” Tal said.

When we tell Roquetta and Saffron about this, let’s include that last bit from the visual display indicating a ‘serious’ emergency. That should stir the pot,” Lesane said.

Tal looked at his friend. “Indeed.”