Volume 5 Airships & Antigravity
The future was nothing like what I had read about growing up. So much for clear skies and amazing spaceships. The world was bleak and rough, a rundown version of its former glory and beauty, yet amongst the rust and rubble was a world of contraptions, crafts, and vehicles that kept trade alive, and people engaged.
From my vantage point on my ride, I could see for miles. Dozens of tugs and trade vehicles zip around keeping commerce running. The cops were there too, never too far away from trouble in their Spinners. Seriously, those things could move. A couple of hoons had come into town with their hotted-up rides and had instantly caught the attention of the cops. It would only take one of those nutters to get happy on the pedal and the race would be on, though this time my money was on the sleek yellow Mac Tools cruiser.
The annual Flying Airship Carnival was on too and some really crazy ships had come into town the night before. Most were quiet as a mouse and drifted along on the ebbs in the wind, though there were always a few that defied the term “nice looking” and were straight out flying buckets of rust and rags. I should not be too harsh though, as many of these were people’s homes and since the great wars of 2097, everyone had to rely on what they could scavenge or trade for. Even the military had developed a few new vehicles since antigravity tech had come into its own, but they never really recovered after the wars. Sure, they still patrolled the outer-city wastelands, but their glory was gone and now they were more like mercenaries than a regulated institution.
As dusk drew near, I could see the high-flying ships of the sky coming into the dock. Some of them were massive and built for awe and wonderment. The tall ship one was my favorite of the highflyers, as it reminded me of the ship my Mum would tell me about from her childhood. Captain Hook I think had one. Boy, I miss her.
I was almost ready to start building my own ride, just a few more panels and I should be good. How was I going to get the last of the money together to get them though? Man, I needed a job and my new license was burning a hole in my pocket.
SkyCab 22 came zipping up to me while I daydreamed, “Come on boy” Dad was not going to wait. He was getting on in age and wanted to get home before the night flyers came out. I jumped in and we were off. One good thing about my old man was that he knew how to fly and build, ok two good things.
Lately, he just wanted to retire. Then it came to me, “Hey Dad…. I have an idea”
