“Welcome to the Sky District,” said the robot, which looked almost human but with just enough off to reveal what it truly was. Its expressions were convincingly human, though, and it radiated the condescending vibe Cass had expected. The Sky District was for the elite of Nova Cascadia. Composed of the upper floors of skyscrapers linked by elevated walkways, it allowed the rich and powerful to live separately and literally above those too poor to gain entry. Cass and Vex were only permitted because a Mr. Rexford had arranged it; he wanted his son to drive for Neon Pulse.

  “Are you sure you want a driver from up here?” said Vex, glancing around the elevated walkway they were following toward the Rexford residence. Both of them felt uncomfortable and underdressed: Cass in his battered leather jacket, Vex in oil-stained overalls. “I know he passed Ultracar’s tests, but I wonder whether a driver raised in this much luxury will have the hunger we need.”

  “I know, I know,” said Cass. He had been thinking the same thing. Word had spread about their driver shortage, and Rexford had sent an emissary suggesting his son, Julian, might suit them perfectly. They were on their way to meet Julian and watch him run a simulator his father had installed in their home.

  “Does he even have real race experience?” asked Vex.

  “Some,” said Cass. “Not in the lower leagues, which is why we haven’t heard of him. But he’s done some of the more... exotic stuff.”

  “You don’t mean vintage cars?”

  “Yeah, those,” said Cass. Vintage car racing was ruinously expensive these days and widely regarded as a leisure pursuit for retired pros and wealthy enthusiasts who could afford to buy and maintain eighty- to one-hundred-year-old machines. Even so, Julian had competed against a few former Ultracar champions and had held his own.

  They reached the Rexford home. Tower was a better word; they owned the entire crown of the skyscraper. “Any luck digging up anything on the father?” Vex asked.

  “Nothing,” said Cass. “Only that they’re rich.”

  The door slid open as they approached. A human attendant, not a cheaper robot, waited for them. “Welcome to the Rexford residence,” he said. “I shall inform Julian that you have arrived. Please wait here.”

  Cass and Vex looked around the entrance hall, which was larger than their entire garage, when a holographic figure materialized in front of them.

  “Hello, Mr. Varn,” the hologram said. “I’m Mr. Rexford. Thank you for coming to evaluate my son.”

  Cass was silent for a moment before he realized this was live rather than pre-recorded. “Of course. Pleasure’s mine.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t be there in person,” Rexford continued. “Business, you understand. But I hope this goes well. Julian is very talented, and this partnership could prove extremely profitable for you. Goodbye.” The image winked out.

  “Profitable?” muttered Vex.

  The penny dropped for Cass. “He wants to buy the seat for his boy.”

  Vex grimaced. “Not one of those.”

  “I thought this might be the situation,” said Cass. “I sort of hoped it would be, to be truthful.”

  “What? You actually want a pay-driver?”

  “We need the money,” said Cass. “It buys us runway, and some breathing space from Arch-Tech.”

  “Hello, I’m Julian,” said a new voice.

  Cass and Vex turned, hoping he hadn’t overheard their muttering.

  “Hey,” said Cass, forcing a smile and extending a hand. “Cass Varn, team principal of Neon Pulse.”

  Julian glanced at the hand with faint distaste but shook it. “I’m Vex,” said Vex, offering his own grease-blackened palm. Julian ignored it and turned away.

  “The simulator is this way,” he said coolly, already walking.

  Julian said nothing more as he led them deeper into the residence. Cass marvelled at how much floor space existed this high above the city. Eventually, they reached the simulator room. In the centre stood a black polymer tube, a stand-in for the titanium cockpits used in real Ultracars. The walls were lined with dozens of huge screens capable of displaying everything from simulated footage to raw telemetry.

  Two technicians were already wiring Julian’s neural interface and helping him into the tube. Cass peered inside. It was empty; no need for gel in a stationary rig. “Can we fill the tube with water?” he asked.

  Julian frowned. “Why?”

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  “It’s easy when you’re breathing air,” said Cass. “I want to see how you handle breathing through a hose while locked in a coffin that could drown you. Not everyone can.”

  Julian rolled his eyes but nodded to the technicians. One began filling the tube while the other fetched the life-support umbilical. Julian left to change into something that could get wet.

  “Mind if I jack in?” Vex asked, already plugging a cable from a console into the port at the base of his skull. He twitched as the connection seated, then grinned. “Nice.” Every screen suddenly showed a hamster wheel with sarcastic commentary. Vex sniggered.

  “Are you two actually from an Ultracar team?” Julian asked flatly, coming back into the room.

  Cass shot Vex a look. The hamster vanished; the screens returned to normal.

  Minutes later, the technicians sealed the pod with Julian submerged inside. It was a valid test, but Cass was quietly relieved not to have to look at the brat for a while.

  “Loading the Nova Cascadia Grand Prix layout,” said Vex. Despite being underwater, all the connections to Julian’s brain would transmit Vex’s audio in an electronic form that would be ‘heard’ as a thought in Julian’s mind. On the screens, the familiar track which hosted both the first and last races every season appeared with a car sitting at the start line. The car's livery was based on silver and deep crimson, the colours of Olympic Motors, one of the biggest and most successful teams. Cass and Vex shared a look and rolled their eyes. “When you’re ready,” said Vex. “Show us what you got.”

  Before Vex had even finished his sentence, the car shot off down the track, and the screens followed its progress. As it approached the first corner, the active aerod panels flared out, increasing the downforce for better braking. A virtual mark on the track briefly showed the braking point Julian had used. It was a conservative one, thought Cass. He never remembered braking that early on this track.

  The rest of the test followed a similar pattern. Julian was better than many could manage. However, his driving left a little more to be desired for Cass. Even in a fast car, Julian would be well off the pace. Even here, his lap times were not quite what they should be.

  “Let’s try to mix it up,” said Vex, after a few laps. One of Ultracar's innovations, besides fast cars, was dynamic tracks. Changing layouts and conditions made the races a constant entertainment. On the screens, the track reconfigured itself while the car continued to run. Additionally, sprinklers began spraying water on the circuit.

  As Julian hit the water, he had a brief moment when he nearly lost control going into a corner; the car lost its rear grip before he regained control. There was a good recovery, but this time Julian’s braking point was not conservative enough for the conditions. Cass was starting to think that Julian may not be worth his father’s money. There would have to be a lot of coaching to get him competitive, and his attitude would make that difficult.

  It was the last lap Cass was willing to watch when Julian lost control of the car coming out of a corner. He tried to accelerate too hard and launched into a spin. Rather than just counter-steer as most would, Julian deployed part of his active aero from the front of the car. This increased the spin for a moment, but as it came around, Julian flared the aero again to slow the spin and brought the front tires in line to regain the grip.

  Cass swallowed. That was actually a good move. It saved lap time, and honestly, most drivers couldn't pull that off. The awareness one needed to react like that was impressive.

  While the technicians got Julian out of the tube, Cass and Vex sat in some chairs and had a quiet conversation. “So?” said Vex. “What do you think? His lap times were pretty slow.”

  “I know,” said Cass. “But did you see that spin he did? That’s hard to teach. I can teach speed, but that is harder.”

  “So you want him?” said Vex, making a face.

  “I think there is potential,” said Cass. “Plus the money. I think it will be ok.”

  “What about his attitude?” said Vex.

  “We might be able to fix that, too,” said Cass. He stood up as Julian was walking toward them.

  “Like what you saw?” said Julian, still acting arrogantly.

  “Did you like your lap times?” said Cass. He paused for a moment and looked at Julian. For all his brovadoo and father’s money, the clock never lies and had the measure of him.

  “You need the money...” said Julian. His arrogant bravado was fading.

  “Look,” said Cass, putting a hand on Julian’s shoulder, indicating he wanted to be real with him. “We’re not going to be the fastest car on the grid. With the lap times you showed, you have to ask yourself. Do you really want to be in last place all the time?”

  Julian was quiet for a moment. Cass was not sure what he had been thinking before this. He must have been aware of his lap times. What had his father put into his head? “I can get faster, though. With experience,” said Julian.

  “Maybe,” said Cass, taking his hand off Julian.

  Julian stepped toward Cass and lowered his voice. “I want to do this,” he said. “I know my dad is paying for my place. I know I’m slow, but....” He looked around. “I want to do this. To prove myself. If by the end of the season I’m still last, then cut me. Forget about my father’s money. Let me prove myself on merit.”

  Now, Cass was silent for a moment, letting the tension build, but he had finally seen some passion from Julian. “Fine,” he said. “I can teach you. But I need you to work with me. Okay?”

  “Okay,” said Julian.

  When they got back to the garage, Nia was waiting for them. “I did some digging on the Rexfords,” she said. Cass looked at her, expecting more. “Do you know how he got all that money?”

  Cass thought for a moment. He had tried to look into it a bit, but had come up short. “No.”

  “Mr. Rexford, when he was younger, built several companies, which he eventually sold,” said Nia. “He sold them all for stock in Titan Dynamics, and is currently one of their biggest shareholders.” Titan Dynamics was a giant weapons and aerospace conglomerate, and the primary sponsor of Olympic Motors.

  “Well, that’s just great,” said Vex. “If we take Julian, we’ll be effectively sharing sponsors with the biggest team on the grid. How do you think Arch-Tech will take it?”

  “I’m not worried about Arch-Tech,” said Nia. “I’m more worried about the team. How do we know everything we do isn’t just going to end up with Olympic Motors?”

  “Do you really think they would sell us out like that?” said Vex.

  “Maybe,” said Cass. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Mr. Rexford is paying for his son to have a seat with us. If he thinks he can turn that into a seat at Olympic, I assume he’ll try.”

  “Then all our work on the car, and with Julian, goes to someone else,” said Vex.

  “Yeah,” said Cass. He did not like this position, but he was finding out just how hard it was for a small team to field a team in Ultracar. “All the same, it’s no good having a driver though if we don’t have a car. How is Aurora doing, Vex?”

  Vex rubbed the back of his neck where the lime green hair met his pale skin. “Yeah, about that.”