Faster

by Alex Schuler

  “Hello?” Barbara Wolff said cheerily.

  “Mom, it’s Ted.”

  “Teddy!”

  He stifled a grin at his mother’s use of his childhood nickname.

  “It’s so good to hear from you,” she continued. “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. Great even. I need some advice. I hope I didn’t call too late.”

  “Nonsense. You know we are always here for you. Hold on while I get your father. He’s got exciting news for you.” She held the phone several inches from her face and covered the receiver. “Jack! Jack, it’s Ted! Pick up the other extension. Jack?”

  “How are things with you, Mom?” Ted asked as he waited for his father to join the call.

  “Not much changes around here. We had a lovely day today, but I know winter is coming. The temperature will be below freezing soon. You don’t have that problem out in the desert, do you?”

  “It gets below freezing at night here in the winter. But the only snow we get is up in the mountains.”

  “And are you dating? Is that why you called?”

  “No, Mom.” He sighed, crossing over to the couch and sinking into its softness. The line responded with crackles and pops as soon as he stepped away from the window. “I wanted to talk to you about work.”

  “Jack!” Barbara screamed out. “I don’t know what’s taking him so long. Listen, Ted, you turned twenty-three a few months ago. Do you know how old I was when I married your father?”

  “Let me guess. Twenty-three?”

  “Twenty-two. How do you expect to meet a girl and raise a family living in the middle of—”

  “Ted?” John Wolff said as he joined the call. “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s great, Dad.”

  “Did your mother tell you the news? I’ve been promoted to floor supervisor.”

  “No, she didn’t. Congrats.”

  “You should see the quality we are getting with the new Cobalt. GM is heavily investing in our plant. Chevy’s never been better. You’re missing out on a lot by not being here.”

  Ted held the phone away from his face and glared at the tiny screen. He felt his grip tighten as frustration poured over him. He closed his eyes and took a long deep breath.

  “I have news of my own,” he said as he struggled to ease his anger. “I have an offer to work on a project for DSU.”

  “DSU?” Barbara asked.

  “David Silver,” Ted replied. “It’s a university in Pittsburgh. The guy that heads up the robotics lab personally came out to see me. My boss Kyle is friends with the guy, and Kyle recommended me for the project. Impressive, right?”

  “What kind of project?” John asked.

  “As in Pennsylvania?” Barbara added. “I thought you moved to the desert to get away from the snow?”

  “There’s this national competition, sponsored by . . . by the government.”

  “What’s it pay?” John asked.

  Ted sighed and lowered the phone. He was beginning to regret making the phone call. “The pay comes at the end, Dad. For the team that wins.”

  “And if you lose?” John said.

  Ted paused as he struggled to come up with a response that would not escalate what was quickly turning into an argument.

  “But how will you live if you don’t have an income?” Barbara asked, her voice filled with angst. “Where will you live?”

  “The school will take care of that. If I have to, I’ll sell my Mustang, but I’m hoping—”

  “Good,” John interjected. “You should be driving a Camaro, anyway.”

  “What’s this school like, Teddy?”

  “It’s the best. The guy, Rusty, who I would work for has built the most amazing robots. Remember the diamond mine collapse? He’s the guy who—”

  “I think this is a bad idea, Ted,” John said. “You’ve been wasting your time on race trucks in the desert less than a year. Now you want to go play with robots?”

  “You don’t understand,” Ted said. “This is an amazing opportunity to work with a legend.”

  “You should be here working beside your brothers,” John said. “Michael and Steve are doing great. All they did was go to a trade school and they are making more than you with your fancy degrees. You can be so much more, Ted. Do so much more.”

  “I know, Dad. That’s why I’m seriously considering this project. You’re not understanding.”

  “I’m not understanding? I’ll tell you what I understand!”

  Ted lowered the phone and placed it on the cushion beside his thigh. He could hear his father’s voice bellowing through the earpiece but could not make out what he was saying. He looked across the room at the paper Rusty had given him. He picked up the phone.

  “I’m sorry,” Ted said. “This isn’t your problem. I shouldn’t have called. We can talk about it another time when it’s not so late.”

  “I thought you wanted our advice,” Barbara said with disappointment. “Did you already decide what you want to do?”

  “He never listens to us,” John said. “You keep making these poor choices, Ted. I’ll never understand why. If you go out there and fail, remember I can get you into the Lordstown plant. Okay?”

  “Sure thing, Dad.”

  “You really need to think this over, Teddy,” Barbara added.

  “Of course,” he stood up and walked over to the kitchen table. The connection crackled. “I haven’t decided anything yet. Honest. Rusty said I have two days to decide.”

  “Two days?” John asked. “That doesn’t seem fair. You need to tell him you need at least a week to think this through.”

  “Okay, Dad. I’ll call back another time so we can talk about it. I promise. Have a great night.”

  Ted was done being lectured by his parents and ended the call. The silence felt like a weight lifted from his shoulders. He smiled as he grabbed Rusty’s paper from the table. Walking back over to the door, he stepped outside to get a stronger signal and dialed Rusty’s number. After several rings, it went to voicemail.

  “Rusty, hey, this is Ted. Ted Wolff. I know we only talked earlier today, but I’ve made up my mind. I’m in. I just need at least a week or two to wrap up my job with Kyle. I have a few projects to finish. I can plan to be there the first week of November.” Ted glanced down at the paper in his hand. Printed in neat almost block letters beside Rusty’s phone number was his email. “I will send you the details once I’ve talked to Kyle. Thanks again for the opportunity. I won’t disappoint you.”

  He ended the call, let out a sigh of relief, and felt himself grinning widely as he walked back inside. The kitchen area had a dozen walnut-colored cupboards. Six on the bottom below the gold Formica countertop, and the others hanging somewhat unevenly on the wall. Ted opened the one below the sink and grabbed a bottle of Chivas Regal. The glass he’d used for his morning orange juice was resting in the dish rack. Flipping it onto the counter, he filled it with a few ounces of the whisky.

  He raised the goblet to his nose and inhaled the scent of grains, flowers, and vanilla, smiling as he gazed into the deep amber liquid.

  “Here’s to changing the world.”

  7

  Rusty leaned against the side entrance to the DSU Robotics Lab and stared across the parking lot toward the road. The gray early November sky and low clouds threatened to unleash rain at any moment. A strong gust of wind sent his navy windbreaker flying. Rusty shrugged off the nearly freezing temperature and glanced at his Seiko chronograph watch. It was a few seconds before 9:05 a.m. A whirring sound caught his attention, and he turned toward the road to follow the sound.

  Just as he did, Harry Palmer rounded the corner on a Segway, weaving his way through several parked cars. He came to a stop a few feet from Rusty and hopped off, leaving it parked beneath a small overhang beside the entrance
.

  “I know,” Harry said as he nervously adjusted his backpack. He didn’t wait to hear what Rusty had to say. Instead, he flung the door open and stepped inside the building. “I’m late. Sorry.”

  The hinges on the door squealed as the door closed. Rusty turned back to the road and glanced again at his watch with a frown as he saw Ted Wolff slowly making his way across the parking lot.

  “Good morning,” Ted said cheerily. He held his hand out to greet Rusty. “I forgot how damp and cold it gets out here. It’s a big change from the desert.”

  “You’re late.” Rusty did not extend his hand. Instead, he turned and opened the door. “Don’t let it happen again.”

  Ted’s smile faded as Rusty opened the door to the building and went in without waiting for him. As Ted ran to catch up, he bumped into Harry’s Segway, almost knocking it over, noticing the dangling key fob before stepping into the dimly lit hallway.

  “The team leads are upstairs waiting for you,” Rusty continued. “But first, I want to give you a quick history lesson.”

  He opened one of two doors at the end of the hall. As they made their way in, Ted saw it was some sort of storeroom, dark with no windows. Rusty flicked a switch and a dozen overhead fluorescent lights sparked to life. The cold white light filled the room.

  Ted looked around in awe. Floor-to-ceiling display cases, six in total, lined up along the back wall. Each showcased a robot mounted on a heavy-duty steel shelf. Ted walked straight over to the one on the far left and read the plaque on the outer glass door. The NASA emblem immediately caught his eye.

  “Is this the robot they sent to the moon?” he asked in amazement.

  “No,” Rusty replied. He was standing in the doorway with his arms folded across his broad chest. “It was the prototype. The one they sent to the moon is still there.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  Ted moved to the next station. Inside was a six-wheeled vehicle painted olive-gray. The robot was just over three feet long and heavily armored. He saw the USMC stencil of the Marine Corps along the side beneath an array of sensors and cameras.

  “These are truly amazing,” he said as he studied the knobbed heavy-duty tires.

  “What they are is amazingly slow. Those sensors on that military drone are incredibly accurate. It’s like I told you in Nevada, they can’t collect data above a couple of miles per hour. Imagine an assembly line, and you have someone tasked with sorting the items coming down the belt. Keep adding speed, and eventually, no matter how many bodies you throw at it, the system is going to fail.”

  “My dad builds cars,” Ted said as he nodded in agreement. He looked back across the collection of robots. “I’m all too aware of assembly lines. So, are all of these prototypes?”

  “Not all of them.” Rusty pointed to the case to the right of Ted. “They let me keep that one.”

  Ted looked at the plaque on the next door.

  Forever-007—Botswana, Africa—2003

  “From the diamond mine collapse,” Ted said softly. He turned and faced Rusty. “I thought you didn’t name your vehicles?”

  “The team always does.”

  “What’s the name mean?”

  “It’s a James Bond reference,” Rusty said, disappointed he hadn’t already picked up on that. “Now that you’ve seen the past, let’s go take a peek at the future.”

  They returned to the hallway. Rusty killed the lights in the display room and pushed the other door open. He grabbed Ted’s arm to prevent him from entering the garage.

  “We’ll come in here later,” Rusty said as he held the door open so Ted could see inside.

  Dozens of people scampered about the expansive workshop floor. A faded red Humvee sat in the center of the commotion near a group of people clearly consumed in some sort of heated discussion. Three people were crawling across the roof of the Hummer, perched on the roof rails like birds. Six others huddled around a computer screen. The workstation was one of several desks located on the opposite wall of the garage.

  “Technically, the FAST Challenge is a graduate seminar class,” Rusty said. “That’s our vehicle. The one I’m going to need your help with.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Ted, you should know I’m very selective on who I allow on this team. Don’t take any of this lightly.”

  “Of course not.”

  Rusty closed the door and headed to the staircase at the far end of the hallway. Ted smiled as he ran his hand along the door that held the collection of robots Rusty had built. As Rusty began climbing the stairs, Ted followed behind, staring at Rusty’s heavy-duty Caterpillar boots that pounded each metal step as they ascended. Rusty winced and rubbed his thigh as they approached the top of the staircase.

  “What’s with the limp?” Ted asked, noticing the older man’s difficulty.

  “It’s not your concern.”

  The door at the top of the stairs announced watch tower, scrawled in blue and red block letters on a yellow poster board. Rusty twisted the handle and flung the door open.

  Harry, Lori, and Nico were inside the room, standing around Harry’s terminal. Nico had a glazed look about him as he twirled his pen across the tips of his fingers. Harry and Lori were in a hushed discussion but stopped their conversation as Rusty and Ted entered. A white plastic bowl filled with leftover Halloween candy was on the table closest to Lori. Harry grabbed a Snickers bar and ripped it open.

  “I need everyone’s attention,” Rusty said as he closed the door behind him. “This is Ted Wolff. Ted’s an engineering whiz from the University of Michigan. He also has expertise in building desert-racers. Winning desert-racers. With the three DARPA challenges being set in the Mojave, Ted will give us an edge the other teams won’t have.”

  “I’m Lori,” Lori said as she stepped forward and shook hands with Ted. “Lori Preston. I’m in charge of mapping.”

  “Mapping?” he asked.

  “DARPA won’t tell us where in the Mojave the challenges will take place. Assuming it will be within the range of a military base, and knowing they plan to do a 130-mile race, we’ve started mapping where we expect it to happen. Fifty thousand square miles, to be precise.”

  “That’s a lot of desert,” he said. “Is it just you?”

  “No. I have a team. We’ve divided it up into fifteen hundred sections. We’re using military photos as well as topographical digital maps. On race day, DARPA will give us the GPS points for the event and we can refine our maps then.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she flicked her red ponytail over the shoulder of her bright pink m.a.d. robots sweatshirt. “It’s exciting work.”

  “I’m Harry Palmer, software lead.” Harry stepped forward and wiped his candy-covered hands along the sides of his white Apple sweatshirt. Streaks of dark chocolate permeated the cotton-poly blend. “Woz up?”

  “Wazzup?” Ted asked. He furrowed his brow as he and Harry shook hands. “As in the beer commercial?”

  “No,” Harry said with a bit of a frown. He pointed at the rainbow logo on the front of his shirt. “As in Woz. The Woz! Steve Wozniak.”

  “Harry’s a bit of a geek,” Nico said as he greeted Ted. “You’ll get used to him. I’m Nico Lee. I’ve got the team doing the sensors and hardware on the Humvee, calibrating everything it will see. I work closely with both Lori and Harry on all aspects of the system we’re putting together.”

  Nico was a couple of inches shorter than Ted. He was dressed in indigo denim jeans and a black long-sleeved T-shirt pushed up to his elbows. Ted pointed to the tattoo on Nico’s right forearm—6D6F6D in black ink.

  “What’s it mean?” Ted asked.

  “It’s hexadecimal,” Nico said.

  Ted reread the tattoo and chuckled. “That spells out ‘MOM.’ Cute. And you said Harry was the geek?”

  “
Oh, it gets worse,” Harry said. “Nico made the artist use a specific font—Segoe.”

  “What’s that?” Ted asked.

  “Enough with the small talk,” Rusty said as he flung the door open. “Ted, feel free to grab a coffee. I want everyone downstairs in five minutes. I’ll be waiting for you by the Hummer.”

  ***

  Ted watched Rusty head back downstairs and looked around the watch tower. Various printouts hung on the walls, and the whiteboards were covered in mathematical formulas. The military calendar was turned to the November photo of an F-15 fighter. It wasn’t a particularly large room. He walked over to the bank of windows and glanced down at the workshop floor. He smiled as he watched the crowd of students parting as Rusty marched over to the faded red Humvee.

  “Coffee?” Lori asked as she tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Sure,” he replied.

  Nico was at the table of snacks and drinks filling an orange Caltech mug with hot water. Ted joined him just as Nico placed a green tea packet into his water.

  “I’m guessing we’ll be working together a lot,” Ted said to Nico. “We started using lidar back in Nevada just before I left.”

  “Started?” Nico asked. “So much for the boy genius. See you downstairs.”

  Ted frowned as he watched Nico turn and leave the room.

  “Don’t mind him,” Lori said. “Rusty’s been riding his ass for months. He thinks you’re here to replace him.”

  “Replace him? No, I’m here to help—and to learn. Rusty never said anything to me about replacing anyone.”

  “Of course not,” Harry said. “It’s all part of the game.”

  “What do you know about Rusty?” Lori asked. She emptied three packets of raw sugar into her red DSU mug. “You had to have researched him before agreeing to this.”

  “Well, I know he’s a robotics genius. And this DARPA project sounds amazing.”

  “So, you really don’t know what Rusty’s like.” She finished stirring her coffee and tossed a tarnished silver spoon onto the tabletop. “I hope you’re ready for this.”

  “Ready?” Ted asked with confusion. Lori grabbed her coffee, turned around, and left the room. Ted looked to Harry. “Ready for what?”