Altima - a 2048 story

So for my writing class at my university, I'm writing a short story collection for my final project. I'd written a few other stories set in a vaguely near-future world, and decided to write one set in the WipEout world, despite not playing the game for quite some time. I had to take some extra time to describe the setting and the ships, and bend the canon a bit [spoiler] since I know that Daniel Chang was the first AG racing fatality. Anyways, I've pasted the story below, and I hope you like it!!! (Ernest Hemingway fans, it was heavily inspired by the "My Old Man" short story.)

Altima

The introduction of the anti-gravity ship was revolutionary. No one but the experts knew how they worked, but a single glance would tell even the most average person that this was an astounding piece of technology. It was about the size of a car and looked like an odd cross between an old Formula One racecar and a fighter jet. Generators were mounted on the bottom that somehow made it hover and an engine on the back provided massive forward thrust. After discovering how fast they were after their invention in the mid 30s, it wasn’t long before people started racing them. Spectators had grown bored of the automated car races, so human pilots were recruited; the first humans in a racing sport in almost two decades. As an added twist, weapons were also added to the mix, giving the sport even more danger and excitement.

Although he was an American, he was drafted into the team from the European Federation. While he didn’t win every race, he was a great pilot and always knew what lines to take on each course. He said that if he didn’t become a racing pilot his dream was to be a concert pianist, and decided to take that up once he retired from the racing league. He would always be back in the pits listening to old Mozart and Beethoven recordings before each race to help get him “in the zone,” as he always said.

I remember the first race in the inaugural season. This was a few years before dedicated racing tracks were constructed, so glass and steel structures like old Hot Wheels tracks were assembled and used along with blocked off portions of city streets. This course spiraled around the bay of New York City, through the streets, and straight up and down the recently-completed Lincoln Building, a staggering feat, seeing as though it was now the tallest structure in the world. Nevertheless, he was able to weave through the grid and tackle the course for a remarkable third-place finish.

A few years later, a course called Altima was built in the mountains. It was the first specially built racetrack for the sport and featured quick turns, massive drops, jumps, and a narrow tunnel. Everyone knew it would be a fan favorite in the coming season. Spectators filled the stands and I had a perfect view of the starting line. The pre-race pit camera feeds were displayed on the screens, showing the crowd what the pilots were up to before the race. Some of them were doing warm-up exercises or shouting at their pit crews to check vital systems, but he was simply sitting in his ship’s cockpit while “Moonlight Sonata” played on his speakers.

It was now time for the race to start. Large airships lifted up the small racing craft and placed them on their respective positions on the starting grid. His blue and yellow ship was in fourth place start out of sixteen. Even though this was a brand new, unfamiliar course, I thought he would do great.

I held my breath as the screens and speakers counted off, “3... 2...1..." Not a split second after they said “GO!” had the ships taken off at breakneck speeds. Within a second they had rounded the first corner and disappeared from view. I’d have to watch the screens until the racers came back for the next lap.

The screens showed footage from cameras mounted around the track and on each racing ship. I watched with excitement as a Japanese pilot took the almost-vertical plunge in the hollowed-out mountain beneath the massive “DANGER” sign. A Russian ship and an American ship were battling for third place as they jumped over a chasm. The crowd roared as the Russian ship fired a missile, striking the American ship causing it to careen into the railings and take off again after a moment. The screen switched again to show the perspective of another European ship as it swerved through the switchback turns. The pilot took the turns with such skill that he barely needed to slow down, which resulted in him striking a bomb. The screen showed static for a moment as the camera and the ship were destroyed, but shortly switched to a trackside camera showing that the pilot survived in his escape pod. The words “CONTENDER ELIMINATED” rang from the loudspeakers and the camera changed again, showing the remaining racers zooming into a tunnel right as he took the lead.

He was still in the lead as they crossed the starting line for the second lap. Fourteen other racers were still in hot pursuit. I waved at his ship as it flew past, but I highly doubt he ever saw me. The racers dashed around the turns and down the mountain tunnel again. The camera shifted to his ship’s perspective just as he did a barrel roll over the jump. The spectators cheered as they watched the world turn in a complete circle on the screen.

The Japanese and Russian ships were close behind as he held the lead through the switchback turns. They chased him into the tunnel again, and someone fired a missile straight at his ship. An explosion filled the tunnel, but I breathed a sigh of relief as the view cleared and his ship sputtered back to life. He crossed the line in third place for the third lap.

I watched as he caught up to the two lead pilots as he rounded the turns once again. He had a speed boost that he had been waiting to use and he must have been planning to use it soon; right as another ship rammed him, he shot forward at incredible speed. He flew off the track as it curved downwards. The mountainside was the last thing I saw before the screen turned to static. A crushed, charred escape pod clattered to the ground several hundred feet below.