Did I spot a smidgen of time travel in this delightful story of a race where Babs the car is
certainly in love with the driver and vice versa, all in the tense context of knowing that if
the race is lost, then the car will be forfeited?
I tried not to think about what was at stake. The pressure was bad enough without telling
her this was for all the marbles: if we lost this Indy 500, she was gone. Sayonara
muchacha. Hasta la bye-bye, and good night, Babs. That’s the way it is when you race
the B’arada. They put up a piece of tech, you put up a piece of tech. Winner takes all,
Indy 500 style.
DEBUT
“The Day the Track Stood Still,” in Analog,May 2003.
VARIANTS
Debut. “The Day the Track Stood Still,” in Analog,May 2003.
I tried not to think about what was at stake. The pressure was bad enough without telling
her this was for all the marbles: if we lost this Indy 500, she was gone. Sayonara
muchacha. Hasta la bye-bye, and good night, Babs. That’s the way it is when you race
the B’arada. They put up a piece of tech, you put up a piece of tech. Winner takes all,
Indy 500 style.
1 English variant