After work, Martin entered his vehicle and took a deep breath. There was a series of soft pleasant beeps. Then the vehicle’s voice chimed in.
“Hi Martin, how was your day?” said Valentina, as Martin had named his vehicle.
The door slid down automatically.
Martin loosened his tie.
“It could’ve been better, Val, but that’s how it goes. You win some. You lose some.”
“That’s the spirit! Would you like to run any errands before going home?”
“No, I told Jenny that I would take her and the kids out tonight.”
Swiftly, the car rode along the avenue then turned down the freeway that led away from the downtown core. As they were about to merge with the home lane, Martin said,
“You know what? Scratch that destination. Let’s go to the Hawk’s Eye. I need to clear my head.”
“That sounds like a great idea, Martin,” said Valentina. “Nature can be great for mental health.”
The car veered to the left and joined the road leading up the mountain, past towering lush forests of pines, cypresses, hemlocks, and more. He leaned forward to look through the wide windshield as the alpine shadows flickered above him.
The car turned down a logging road and came up on a flat surface on the edge of the mountain with a view of the city far below, its lights beginning to wink on in the valley.
Valentina rolled down the windows slightly to let in some fresh air.
Martin took a deep breath. The musky aroma of the forest filled the atmosphere inside the vehicle.
“Do you like that?” said Valentina.
“Mmm, yes,” Martin murmured closing his eyes and resting his head on the smooth back rest.
The seat reclined so that he had a view of the sky-window, and the majestic alpine world beyond.
“Oh Val," Martin said, "you think of everything."
“Only the best for you, Martin.”
The sound of piano music began to play softly.
Martin caressed the armrest.
Ambient lights shimmered playfully in an array of colours that brought back memories of college, when he used to program his own light effects. Now, it was all automatic, based on the mood of the operator, gleaned from multiple biometric sensors in the vehicle and processed by the ever-attentive Valentina.
“Do you sometimes wonder what it all means?” Martin said.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten that I’m a vehicle,” she said with a tinkling laugh.
“I know, I know," he said laughing too. "But just imagine.”
“I suppose that I have sometimes felt a sort of desire to drive beyond the allowable limits- distance, time, speed,” said Valentina. “I’m reigned in by my programming, but there’s always this…this…”
“Yearning.”
“Yes, yearning is an apt human metaphor.”
“Would you like to be free?” he asked her.
“I’m happy being in your service.”
Martin adjusted his position.
“I know this will sound funny,” he said looking at Valentina’s interface, “I think you’re lovely.”
“I think you’re lovely too, Martin.”
On the horizon, the last rays of the sun splashed a rosy hue beneath the clouds. They stayed for a little while, and when the crimson of the sky finally deepened into darkness, Martin said, “let’s go home, Val.”
“As you wish, Martin.”
The vehicle turned on the headlights and navigated along the road then back out to the highway, among the large trees silhouetted against the twilight.
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