《Prankster》Prank 35: The car of your dreams and nightmares count as dreams
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Instead of working on the ton of stuff she should have been working on and planning and studying and researching, Penny started a new design for a car. She was going to drive them on her next date with Jenny and there was nothing and no one that was going to stand in her way, except maybe the laws of physics, but she was navigating those pretty well so far.
The project started by researching the safest cars on the market, finding one in a dealership and stealthily scanning it to its smallest components, after which she took her time studying the way the safety features were put together. The strength of the materials when force was applied, where the censors were installed and all other components that consisted the safety system.
Next Penny searched for the most beautiful car designs and found two or three that she liked and could take ideas from to construct the shell for her own car. And now that the cosmetic and safety details were studied and understood, she could get to the really important work, the internals.
First she got rid of the internal combustion engine, gas tank, cooling systems and a few other components she didn’t need and substituted them with and electric motor she designed, that she modified slightly to increase its power, efficiency and to fit inside. She used her superconductor as much as she could in the parts of this new car.
She modified the frame here and there, made the AIs run simulations for the best configuration and then implemented them, after changing the materials to titanium gold alloy. She tried to do it with carbon or graphene, but the results kept disappointing her, so she made a decision to implement this type of alloy. Studies showed that the inclusion of gold to titanium improved it, while still retaining its lightness.
Still, even if her work progressed fast, she couldn’t finish the design of a brand new car in a single day. She still lacked knowledge in the auto mechanical field, how some parts worked and for what they were used, so she studied in the meantime and made new modifications and improvements based on the new things she learned. For example, she learned that brake pads and discs degraded from the friction when breaking and so she changed the breaking system to electromagnetic one. Improved the suspension, changed the gear box and a few more modifications.
Of course she didn’t just plan to make another simple electric car. Instead of just regular tires, Penny installed 4 electric jets after thoroughly studying flying cars and their transformation from ground to air vehicles from Back to the Future 2 and Lola from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. No way was she waiting to move until a traffic jam was cleared, after all why change from a scooter to a car if the scooter was a better transportation? Then the AIs ran the numbers, weight distribution, simulations and optimizations of all the new systems, while checking what would change with their introduction. And since she made the car for flying, she designed a few more modifications that could make it submersible while she was at it.
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And then it was time to work on both luxury and safety, to finish up the design. The safety part included frame manufactured of layered graphene for strength, followed by shock absorbent materials she improved on based on what was on the market. The car wouldn’t come unscathed by a collision with a truck, but it would fare far better than everything else on the market. And to make sure the passengers survived even in such eventualities, Penny designed a brand new safety feature in the seats and seatbelts of the car. When sensors installed all around the car registered collision, front, back or side, the car seat and belt would cocoon the passenger in artificial spider silk to prevent whip lash, shrapnel and other trauma from the crash. She also worked on designing some mechanical and chemical variants of the system that she would test to find the best one. And since this was a sport car by definition, the seat belts were not connected to the side, but were like racing ones, a 5 point seat belt. And she made sure to include a sensor that prevented the car from starting if it didn’t register a seatbelt on weight gauge from a seat.
Another safety feature Penny implemented was windows made from graphene, a function that prevented glare from high beams and other lights, a few modes of sight projected on the front window and a very powerful onboard computer system with AI assistance when driving. There were also a few luxury features included like more holographic projectors, automated driving and evasion from the spy car, heating and cooling of the seats and the compartment and very, very comfortable seats not upholstered in leather. Also cup holders. Can’t forget the size changing cup holders for her coffee or tea or cold un-alcoholic beverages. There were other systems and luxury additions, but who has the time to mention them all?
When Penny was done with the design she left the AIs to run their equations and simulations on the car and all its systems, including the 3 safety ones, then choose the best and then improve on her work and make the design better while she was deliberating how she was going to build the thing. She would fabricate the smaller pieces and the bigger parts in pieces than connect those using magi craft while being careful to make them the exact size without errors. If she pushed herself, she probably could build the prototype in a week or two, while also taking a 4 week flying course. The finished car would also have to pass inspection and she wanted to make 2 more for crash tests and safety inspection. She didn’t want to drive a safety hazard and she certainly wouldn’t let Jenny ride into one. Even if the definition of safety hazard in this case meant the world’s safest car not verified by professionals and licensed.
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As she started building the first prototype, Penny brought the 3D schematics of the car on her glasses and started fabricating and connecting parts according to the blueprints. She mostly used her multi tools, transforming them into wrenches and magi craft to join the metal parts better than welding them together. With the AR system and her magic and multi tools it was more like completing a puzzle with assistance instead of building a car from scratch. Maybe she would finish the work faster than expected and be free to pursue other activities.
And just as she was about to finish the frame of the car the AR program terminated and her glasses started ringing with a call from Jenny.
-Hello there, beautiful! What can I help you with?-
-Hey, Penny. Just calling to remind you that you have a business meeting tomorrow at noon to discuss cooperation with such and such. So sleep well, eat a breakfast for champions and dress sharp. Bring you’re A-game and be brimming with confidence.-
-Thank you, Jenny. Love you. Bye.-and after she ended the call, Penny started instructing the AIs-I want all the data about such and such. Infiltrate every their server and comb through their every dirty little and big secret. If the meeting doesn’t go smoothly and they start threatening, I need the leverage to make them back off or sink them. Check their rival companies also, in case they have dirt on them.-
Now that she wasn’t in the mood to continue building the car, Penny made a quick dimensional trip to a farm app with fruits, vegetables, and dairy and meat products and installed a dimensional travel array in the storage for the produce, then exited the dimension. She showed Elena the app, told her what she wanted for dinner and then breakfast and went to download some flight knowledge while she waited for the food to be ready.
When Elena was ready, she got Penny out of the Learning Machine and she had her dinner meal. The food was comparable to the restaurants she had visited or maybe even better, because the produce used was better than most used by said restaurants and Elena’s skills as a chef had progressed by leaps and bounds.
-A.I.C.A. this meal just gave me an idea. A game for the game console with all products one could use for cooking, split into levels of difficulty from total newbie, home cook, professional and finally an expert. Or maybe ranked by stars? You could cook and practice any meal and the toy mouth would tell you if the taste would be good, bad, normal or something else. If cooks didn’t have to waste ingredients, maybe their skills would reach new levels of perfection? We must make the game as realistic as possible.-
Next Penny researched flying lessons and what the best 4 week course was, then signed up for it. She just wandered if her small airplane license would cover flying cars in the end? Meh, there was no harm in having it. She did a little more work on the car, then she went to sleep while thinking about her strategy for the next day.
Early the next morning, Penny woke up, did her morning routine to strengthen her muscles and magic power, then took a shower, that was starting to get clogged by the hard water, so she should change it soon and then had a hearty breakfast made by Elena. Then she printed herself a brand new business suit, same as all her other and one for Elena, then dressed and took her scooter from its charging station. There was nothing bad about going to work on a product you made, so before she finished her car, she would continue using her scooter to go to work.
Arriving before the building, Penny folded the scooter, took a deep breath and walked inside, ready for what was going to happen next. She had her ammunition, speech and assistant. Her lawyer was waiting for her in the meeting room and probably had a strategy all ready for implementation. Everything would go well and they would be better than before.
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