Having finished his cup of coffee, Will dropped the empty cup in the
recycling bin, got in his Tiger and fired it up. As he left the convenience
store for the highway he wondered how soon even those stores would be gone,
replaced by T-port technology; another victim of a rapidly changing world.
Certainly driving had changed. In the five years since T-ports came
to market in 2031, being a driving enthusiast has been rewarding --
although not without its problems. The first change caused by affordable
teleportation technology was an almost instant emptying of the roads; these
days, Will rarely saw more than a couple of cars per hour, even in the
close-in suburbs. Trucks and buses being non-existent certainly made for
more pleasant motoring, too. Instead, the roads were now clear save the odd
car nut, and they often wanted to race, and the cops just don't interfere
anymore.
What no one, including Will, foresaw was that T-ports, once small
enough, could be incorporated into cars in many ways. Will's own Tiger had
more than a few. When Jegs-Summit Racing first featured them on their
website, he gulped over the price, then took the plunge.
One replaced most of the fuel system. The fuel tanks were ripped
out, along with the pesky fuel pump and lines. A T-port screwed right into
the carburetor, sending fuel straight in from a storage facility in orbit
already under pressure, and charged against his account with Exxonaco in
real-time as he used it. No only did he never again has to worry about
running out of gas, but he could finally relinquish the concerns about
having the fuel on board; that had bothered him ever since his grandfather
had left the car to him in his will. Even were he to wreck the car, a
microswitch would shut off the T-port immediately, and a fire would be
impossible.
Two more T-ports were bolted to the front of the motor under a
decorative cover that looked like the old water pump. One injected coolant
at lower temperature, the other drew the hot coolant away after passing
through the motor. For start-up, the coolant T-shipped in was from storage
at 100 degrees or so, then it switched to cooler temps. At the far end, a
network of receiver sites used the excess heat for household heating; right
now, the coolant leaving Will's car would shortly be warming some guy's
house in Australia, he mused. Getting a credit for the heat to help offset
charges wasn't a bad deal, either.
Another pair of T-ports performed a similar function in the
cast-alloy "dry sump", spiriting away hot dirty oil in exchange for freshly
filtered oil. The oil filter wrenches were still on a shelf in Will's
garage, but he didn't miss not having to use them anymore. Further, the
absence of the radiator, coolant and oil offset the loss of the fuel tanks
and kept the weight bias close to correct - and, being lighter, the car was
a little faster, too.
One more T-port resided under a dummy air-filter, and shoved in
plenty of cold air into the carburetor. No more concerns about a
power-robbing hot engine compartment for this cat. The source of the air,
already filtered, was in the Antarctic and about as dense as could be hoped
for.
There were a few more T-ports here and there; some in the braking system,
and more in the power-steering rack so a pump wouldn't be needed. Will's
problem was affording them all. Not only were the T-ports still a bit
pricey, but the monthly service charges were starting to add up. Still...
Having programmed his comp to notify him of all news on T-porting in
automobiles, he had recently read an article in his favorite ezine, Road &
Driver, about developments in the next generation of T-ports. One
application hinted at was an active air suspension, pressurized air being
T-shipped into the system on demand. Perhaps a few hours' overtime each week
might pay for getting one.
Yeah, a golden era for car guys, Will thought, for as long as it
lasts. Not only was the monthly bill to run all of the T-ports getting hard
to take, but the state and federal governments didn't want to spend tax
dollars on road maintenance anymore; so one day soon either enthusiasts
would have to take on the entire burden for the infrastructure, or face
deteriorating roads.
Or get off the streets altogether, and stick to racing. Last week,
the broadcast or the Talledega race was pretty exciting; the crash involving
the new kid from the seventh generation of Pettys was a shocker. With the
car hitting the wall at 317 mph, he would have been killed for sure if the
on-board T-port hadn't pulled him out of the car at the last second. Will
thought about his such device, sitting under the seat, as he crossed the 125
mph mark.
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