The models were as they had supposed, small-scale versions of various vehicles they’d have to learn to drive in order to graduate, from one-man scooters to big transport trucks. They were given models of four-person passenger cars marked POLICE, and control sets, the models being, of course, remote-controlled.
This was an interactive game with a vengeance, and the other students who had advanced this far grinned at them and made room. Derec started his car slowly, nearly got run over by a big truck, speeded up, nearly went out of the lane going around a corner, cut too sharply, but gradually began to get the hang of it.
Then a white-gleaming ambulance with red crosses on its doors and top made a left turn from the outside lane, the operator crying “Oops!” belatedly as he realized where he was. Derec avoided him skillfully and slipped past. After a moment his controls froze, as did the ambulance’s. The ambulance operator grimaced, then grinned ruefully, and they all looked at a trimensional screen to one side.
A-9 ILLEGAL TURN, NO SIGNALS. P-3, FAILURE TO APPREHEND TRAFFIC VIOLATOR.
“Frost. Swim or drown,” Derec muttered, and the girl next to him laughed.
It wasn’t as easy as it looked, and he wasn’t thinking only of not knowing the rules-such as that a police car was expected to act like a police car. The streets were full of vehicles, and he had to be prepared to predict their moves. None of his Spacer training was of much use here. To his mortification, he rammed a fire engine at one stopping, not seeing the signal lights in time. It didn’t help that Ariel slaughtered half a dozen pedestrians at a place where the motorway and pedestrian levels merged. The other students were far better, but cheerful about it, or Derec couldn’t have stood it.
It was humiliating.
After an hour of exhilarating play, during which they got much better, Red came by and said, “Take a break, all; give the second team a chance.”
The students relinquished their controls, leaving the vehicles in mid-street, and trooped out, old and young alike, to some kind of refectory. Red caught Derec’s eye, nodded to Ariel; they stepped aside.
“I’ve been watching the monitor record. You’re not so swift on models, where I was expectin’ you t’ shine,” he said. “Figured you’d have lots of experience on them.”
He paused and eyed them questioningly, but they just nodded. Shrugging, Red said, “I’m gonna put you on trucks. Big ones. You ever been outside?”
Chilled, Derec said, “What?”
“Outside the City, “ Red said patiently.
“Well-” Derec exchanged a glance with Ariel. “Yeah. We’ve, uh, we’ve given it a try.”
“Ever have nightmares about it?”
“What? No.”
Red nodded shrewdly. “The shrinks have all kinds tests, but one thing talks true: nightmares. Thing is, you’re young, you could be conditioned easily if you aren’t what shrinks call phobic. That means, if you don’t have nightmares. Big money in driving the big rigs outside-not many people to do this kind of job. Most trucks are computer-controlled, or remote-controlled-but even remote-control ops get upset, break down, have nightmares. They even use a lot of robot drivers. “
“Really?”
Red shrugged. “Why not? They’re not takin’ anybody’s job away. Not many people will do that kind of work. If you can do it-and will-it pays real good.”
Derec and Ariel looked at each other.
“Don’t have to decide right away,” Red said shrewdly. “I know-people’d think you’re queer, wanting to go outside. And I should tell you, I get a bounty on every prospect I send out.”
He looked at them with a hint of humor. “Oh, yeah, you got to apply for the job-outside.”
He paused for an answer, and Derec said slowly, “Well, can we think it over? I mean, we don’t know anything about trucks-”
“I’ll put you on simulators now-c’mon back here.”
At the back of the room were giant simulators they had to climb up into-three of them.
“Most of the trucks we train on are for inside the City, and they’re pretty small. Lots of competition for the driver jobs on them-most freight goes by the freightways, naturally, and driving the freight-handler trucks is a different department of the Transportation Bureau. Lots of competition for those jobs, too. But these big babies go beggin’. Yet they’re real easy to learn.”
The important thing was remembering that one had a long “tail” behind one. They moved. slowly when maneuvering, though, and anyone who had landed a spaceship could learn this readily enough.
“Give it half an hour or so, an’ we’ll look at your records.”
It was closer to an hour, and Derec and Ariel were both tired when Red approached them again.
“You done real good,” he said, looking at a print-out. “You were made for outside drivin’. You do much better where you don’t have to watch out for traffic.” He looked at them with a faint smile. “It’s never as frantic in the motorways as in our model. Usually they’re wide open and empty… But you learn about traffic in traffic.”
“How’d we do?” Ariel asked, imitating his accent fairly well, to Derec’s ear.
“Good enough to make it worth your while to go on,” said Red. “A week’s training, and I’ll be sending you out to Mattell Trucking Transport. Yes?”
Ms. Winters, from the inner office, had approached him. She glanced at them curiously.
“You two go take a break, drink some fruit juice or something, and I’ll talk to you in fifteen minutes.”
When they were out of sight, Ariel said, “Keep on going.”
“I thought so, but I couldn’t be sure,” Derec said.
“I suppose she checked out our education, or something,” Ariel said glumly.
“Yes, well, it had to happen. And we’ve had an hour’s worth of training on big trucks.” Derec was quite buoyant. “I doubt very much if they are equipped to chase stolen trucks across the countryside. At least, not well equipped. How many Earthers would not only steal a big truck, but take off across country?”
“We haven’t stolen our truck yet,” Ariel said gloomily.
Derec found himself joining her in gloom as they made their way back to the expressway; and then they found it jammed and had to stand on the lower-ratings’ level. It traveled just as fast, but it was a tiring nuisance.
They stopped off at the kitchen for a light lunch, and at the Personals on the way back to the apartment. Derec made his way back to Sub-Section G, Corridor M, Sub-Corridor 16, Apartment 21, from the Personal, with a skill that was by now automatic. Then he sat and waited. And waited.
Derec was quite concerned by the time Ariel returned, and became more concerned with one look at her. She had taken twice as long as he, and looked dull.
“What took you so long?”
“I got lost,” she said lusterlessly.
“You look-tired. You want-to lie down?” Derec’s voice kept catching with his fear.
“I guess.”
But Ariel sat down on the couch and didn’t move. She didn’t respond to anything Derec said. After a long while she got up and dragged herself into the bedroom.
Derec was worried and restless. He had wanted to discuss ways and means of getting a truck, but that was impossible under the circumstances. She obviously had at least a mild fever.
Instead, he spent the afternoon viewing books. Some of Dr. Avery’s local collection were Earthly novels; some were documentaries; some were volumes of statistics about population densities, yeast production, and so on. It was not the most stimulating reading he’d ever done, but Derec read or viewed the documentaries-some were print, some audiovisual.
Presently he found that it was late and he was hungry, but he hesitated. “R. David, please check on Ariel and see if she is awake. If so, ask if she would like to accompany me to the section kitchen.”
The robot did so, found her awake, and repeated the answer Derec had heard: “No, Mr. Avery, Miss Avery does not feel hungry and requires no food.”
He hesitated about leaving her. If she felt hungry later, he could accompany her to the kitchen door, but doubted he’d be allowed in again tonight. Still, he could hang around outside and hope he wasn’t questioned by a policeman. In any case, he himself was quite hungry despite his worry over Ariel.