A11_4_ON3 put his hand on the throttle,
waiting for the lines to turn to green. He
pictured himself crossing the finish line ahead
of everyone else. He didn’t care about ECHO,
Z1P_ZAP, or STR33T_WIZE. They were the
ones who told him to stop racing with them.
Now was his opportunity to show them how
much of a mistake that had been. He’d leave
them all in his virtual dust.
“You guys ready?” ECHO asked.
A11_4_ON3 rolled his eyes. He knew
what they were about to say. He’d said it
himself more times than he could count. It
was a ritual—a team motto they would say just
before the start of each race.
“In it to win it!” ECHO, Z1P_ZAP, and
STR33T_WIZE all said in unison, while
A11_4_ON3 remained silent. The phrase used
to get him excited to start a race, but now it
was just annoying to hear.
The lines turned green. A11_4_ON3
slammed the throttle forward, and the pod
took off. The vehicle was faster than he
expected, but he adjusted quickly—just like
10
