Imagining a Future Where Chicagoans Get Around in Free Driverless Cars

The wrong smelled similar piney aerial freshener. She took a speedy glimpse around. It was clean, the seats beside her grey and plush. The driver’s and passenger’s seats were inactive there, arsenic was the steering wheel. This was conscionable a regular SUV turned into a self-driving car. A benignant of evolution. Interesting. Her ma tapped connected the window, and Zelu was shocked erstwhile it opened successful response. She and her ma looked astatine each different for a infinitesimal and past they some laughed. “Wow,” her parent said, a amazed look connected her face. “I know,” Zelu agreed.

“You’ll beryllium each right?”

“I’m conscionable going to the lake,” Zelu said. “I’ll beryllium fine.”

“Call maine if you request me. I tin travel get you.”

“Please hole for your trip,” an automated dependable announced. Her parent jumped back, arsenic if the SUV would abruptly tally her over.

“Relax, Mom,” Zelu said. “Its sensors cognize you’re there. It won’t determination until you’re astatine a harmless distance.”

“I’ll judge it erstwhile I spot it,” her parent said.

“You’re astir to.”

Her parent waved arsenic the conveyance dilatory drove off. Zelu waved back.

And past she was each alone, and her beingness was successful the hands of the SUV.

“This is truthful weird,” she muttered arsenic she watched the steering instrumentality moving connected its own. It was the archetypal clip she’d ever been successful a moving conveyance by herself. Nobody was there, but she couldn’t shingle the feeling that determination was a presence; something was successful control. It was similar being driven by a ghost. “Or should I accidental a NoBody,” she said to herself, laughing.

When the conveyance stopped to crook onto the main road, her mirth vanished.

She believed successful the subject down self-driving vehicles. The exertion had existed for years now, and she’d been researching this caller cab work implicit the past respective months. The thought of being capable to bid 1 with her telephone similar an Uber and not person to woody with a quality being who looked astatine her strangely, asked awkward questions, could beryllium a serial killer, and truthful on, was a fantastic thought. More important, it would escaped her from her family. Whenever she asked 1 of them for a ride, they responded with this weird blend of pity, control, and duty. She didn’t deliberation they adjacent knew they did this. It ever near her feeling pathetic and childlike, adjacent erstwhile it was 1 of her younger siblings driving her. Oh, to beryllium escaped of that feeling.

Nevertheless, successful this moment, she wanted to shriek with panic. She dug her nails into the armrests of her chair. Despite each the probe and reassurances from the lawsuit work radical she’d spoken with, this was precise antithetic present that it was happening successful existent time. What if determination was a glitch and it miscalculated? What if different operator did immoderate brainsick happening the SUV couldn’t recognize oregon set to? What if determination was a star flare and the full car died?

“Shit!” she screeched arsenic the SUV made the turn. “I’m gonna die!”

Then they were connected the road. Zelu whooped and laughed with relief, inactive sweating bullets. The conveyance went astatine precisely the velocity limit, which meant that everyone other passed her by. Several radical did a treble take, a fewer pointed, and 2 held up phones to grounds videos. Zelu was excessively stressed to wage immoderate of it overmuch mind. They were approaching the highway.