car was just for fun. Cruising down the highways, you would generally only see one or two other cars every minute or so.
Patrick's 300 horsepower coupe, reminiscent of an old corvette, ran on sea weed ethanol, the preferred combustible fuel due to the renewable nature of kelp, and because there was no wasted agriculture space or soil nutrients. Unless you wanted a muscle car, like Patrick, people would just get an electric one, since helium cooled nuclear power was plentiful, and broadcast wirelessly through Tesla inspired coils. Helium became a viable alternative method of cooling nuclear reactors once cheaper methods of helium production were streamlined a decade earlier; and since helium cannot become radioactive, it was safer than using water to cool the reactors.
Wave power and windmills were still plentiful in coastal areas however, accounting for 60% of power in New England north of Boston. And hydroelectric plants on rivers made up close to 10% of New England’s overall power needs. Combustible fuels were only rarely used for power, generally to drive backup generators, or to power building and settlements that were remote and disconnected. But power wires were almost nowhere to be seen. Some underground cables still transmitted electricity to the Tesla electricity broadcasting coils, but essentially all electronic devices received their electricity wirelessly. Just like wireless Internet, sometimes the coils required a pass code to access the power.
Patrick was relaying a story to Mr. Drake about nearly totaling his car in the process of trying to impress a girl he picked up. Most highways in New England, although updated, ran along the same old routes from pre-collapse. The main difference were the elevated mag tunnels in the median of each highway, or sometimes right above the road if the median wasn't big enough. The roads were paved in a type of ceramic that was pretty much just mud and clay with different types of common metals added, and heated to firmness while steamrolling. It was cheap to build, drained water, and lasted a long time, especially since traffic was relatively low.
It was a little expensive for access to most roads, but companies sold subscriptions to bundle access if it wasn’t included in another service; Mr. Patrick could travel on almost any road in New England for $175 per month. The owners would have the roads patrolled to make sure users had paid for access. A radio frequency transmitter was issued to subscribers so security patrols could receive the signal, and if they did not, drivers would be detained and issued a fine by the road company.
When Mr. Patrick's story about almost killing himself and the girl in a high speed wreck came to a close, and the pair's laughter died down, the conversation turned to the controversy surrounding Atlas Protection, and the ruling which had come out of Barry Arbitration the day before.
"I've already begun picking up customers from the fallout," Patrick told Drake. "Talk about good luck on our part."
"Yes..." Drake drawled with a smirk – his smiles becoming more frequent and noticeable over the last few days. "Quite our luck ," and he accentuated the word luck while keeping eye contact with Patrick.
After a brief look of bewilderment, understanding came over Patrick's face and he raised his head in an ah-ha sort of manner, before narrowing his eyes and nodding, with a sly smirk of his own.
"And what about Barry? He must know he's going to get screwed sooner rather than later?" Patrick questioned.
Drake sat silent for a moment, deciding how to advance the subject. "Well... Have you ever noticed that our two companies, mine and yours; our contracts cover more than half of the southern and western borders of New England, when you figure in our field offices for response and patrols?"
"Are you saying it doesn't end with Atlas?" Patrick sounded skeptical but was leaning in with keen interest, eyes still narrowed, smirk still visible.
Drake was
Patrick's 300 horsepower coupe, reminiscent of an old corvette, ran on sea weed ethanol, the preferred combustible fuel due to the renewable nature of kelp, and because there was no wasted agriculture space or soil nutrients. Unless you wanted a muscle car, like Patrick, people would just get an electric one, since helium cooled nuclear power was plentiful, and broadcast wirelessly through Tesla inspired coils. Helium became a viable alternative method of cooling nuclear reactors once cheaper methods of helium production were streamlined a decade earlier; and since helium cannot become radioactive, it was safer than using water to cool the reactors.
Wave power and windmills were still plentiful in coastal areas however, accounting for 60% of power in New England north of Boston. And hydroelectric plants on rivers made up close to 10% of New England’s overall power needs. Combustible fuels were only rarely used for power, generally to drive backup generators, or to power building and settlements that were remote and disconnected. But power wires were almost nowhere to be seen. Some underground cables still transmitted electricity to the Tesla electricity broadcasting coils, but essentially all electronic devices received their electricity wirelessly. Just like wireless Internet, sometimes the coils required a pass code to access the power.
Patrick was relaying a story to Mr. Drake about nearly totaling his car in the process of trying to impress a girl he picked up. Most highways in New England, although updated, ran along the same old routes from pre-collapse. The main difference were the elevated mag tunnels in the median of each highway, or sometimes right above the road if the median wasn't big enough. The roads were paved in a type of ceramic that was pretty much just mud and clay with different types of common metals added, and heated to firmness while steamrolling. It was cheap to build, drained water, and lasted a long time, especially since traffic was relatively low.
It was a little expensive for access to most roads, but companies sold subscriptions to bundle access if it wasn’t included in another service; Mr. Patrick could travel on almost any road in New England for $175 per month. The owners would have the roads patrolled to make sure users had paid for access. A radio frequency transmitter was issued to subscribers so security patrols could receive the signal, and if they did not, drivers would be detained and issued a fine by the road company.
When Mr. Patrick's story about almost killing himself and the girl in a high speed wreck came to a close, and the pair's laughter died down, the conversation turned to the controversy surrounding Atlas Protection, and the ruling which had come out of Barry Arbitration the day before.
"I've already begun picking up customers from the fallout," Patrick told Drake. "Talk about good luck on our part."
"Yes..." Drake drawled with a smirk – his smiles becoming more frequent and noticeable over the last few days. "Quite our luck ," and he accentuated the word luck while keeping eye contact with Patrick.
After a brief look of bewilderment, understanding came over Patrick's face and he raised his head in an ah-ha sort of manner, before narrowing his eyes and nodding, with a sly smirk of his own.
"And what about Barry? He must know he's going to get screwed sooner rather than later?" Patrick questioned.
Drake sat silent for a moment, deciding how to advance the subject. "Well... Have you ever noticed that our two companies, mine and yours; our contracts cover more than half of the southern and western borders of New England, when you figure in our field offices for response and patrols?"
"Are you saying it doesn't end with Atlas?" Patrick sounded skeptical but was leaning in with keen interest, eyes still narrowed, smirk still visible.
Drake was
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