Riding the Bubble

Riding the Bubble

I admit it… I’m a nerd, a geek - an early adapter as it were.  I’ve read almost every Sci-Fi book in existence and seen every Sci-Fi movie under the sun… Dearheart and I stood in line in 1977 for 3 hours plus to see the premiere of Star Wars and I’m here to tell you a self -driving car is going too far !  With these credentials behind me I can tell you that a self-driving car is the worse idea right after someone saying bacon is bad for you.  

I have only two requirements for future tech… the first is if you’re going to fool around with artificial intelligence I insist that any android, robot or other sentient creation that can take over the world at any time must have a subservient voice and attitude.  In addition it must have an off switch the size of a dinner plate on its back that anyone can activate at will.  I can live with mechanical over lords but what I can’t live with is a self-driving cars.  I say no ! You’ve gone too far ! 

Now, I drive a 1996 Dodge Ram and spend a lot of time on the road.  The joy in that is riding the bubble… you know when all the other cars are racing a half mile ahead of you and the next cluster of cars are still a half mile behind you… it’s just you. Five empty lanes surround you and you glide along  in a blissful haze.  Your favorite song comes on the radio and your truck becomes everything you expect of it.  Intellectually you know it’s just a pile of metal and plastic but when you ride the bubble your machine is a part of you… a piece of your soul.  When you spend that much time together you give her a name… Ursula. Hot tempered, easily angered and for the most part yours is a contentious relationship but not here… not in the bubble.  Here, all is right with the world… the skies are blue, the air is cool and sweet.  In the bubble every nut, every bolt everything that makes it a truck runs with a power unlike any other. It runs smooth, strong, with a powerful response to every push of the peddle.  The two of you are one.  It wants what you want, strives to please and protect you like a huge horse that thunders under your will, galloping ahead of the hordes of cars that threaten to overtake you from behind.  You hold that speed to float in the middle of that bubble for as long as possible… anything to maintain that connection, to hold that kindship for one moment longer…  You will never get that from a self-driving car… never!   As I said, they’ve gone too far.

Reviews

[Chris]

Nice submission. Good job in conveying your passion for keeping the transportation industry traditional. Also interesting how you connect it to the overall dangers of future tech as a whole.

[Tegon Maus]

Thanks for the note Chris !

[David Scott]

Progress is not always progress.
Nostalgia is not efficient, but it is essential.

[Tegon Maus]

Thanks for the read Dave ! not to mention the note !!