wintle
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The investors were lined up. Five of them, all dressed in immaculate suites that probably cost more than Jerry made in a year. They stood around the test area, talking quietly amongst themselves. Jerry, dressed in the nicest clothes he could, went over to greet them.
“Greetings, gentlemen.” He said. “I have a very exciting opportunity for you all today. The future of the auto industry. A revolutionary—”
“Yes, yes, we’ve heard it all before.” One of the investors said with a dismissive wave. “Get on with it.”
Jerry stumbled around his words, but stopped before he said anything to really upset these men. Instead, he just texted his assistant, who was waiting in the prototype. The new vehicle rolled out. The driver’s area was a clear plastic bubble with a seat suspended by axel rollers, with the controls set into a panel attached to the chair. The driver was secured to his seat by a harness, and was wearing all the required safety equipment. The prototype had two wheels set into the bottom of the sphere, although they looked a little odd. They were wider than normal, were covered in tiny holes, and had rounded hubcaps.
“Behold, our prototype design.” Jerry said, trying to sound proud. He knew it didn’t look like much, but it worked. “The future of road transport everywhere. It is, quite simply, the safest car anyone can ever drive. Period.”
“It looks stupid.” An investor said. “Nobody will buy something like looks like a damn kids toy.”
The others voiced their agreement. That was not a good sign. Jerry would have to wow them with performance over looks.
“Yes, I know it’s not much to look at.” He said. “But I assure you it’s the future. And keep in mind this is just a prototype. With your investment, I hope to be able to make it look much more appealing to the consumer, as well as work out some of the problems this version has.”
The mention of problems made them grumble. Jerry winced. He should not have said that. Well, it was too late now. He had better get the real show started.
“Okay, let’s not worry about that right now. You’re all here to see how this little wonder works, so let’s get to it.” With a quick text, his partner started moving.
It rolled over the course that was purposely made rough and uneven. As it did, tiny spokes jutted out of the wheel, allowing the vehicle to almost glide over the ground. The driver barely bobbed, and it looked like he was driving over smooth pavement. Jerry gave the investors a dumbed down summary of what they were seeing.
The driver approached a large wall set in the middle of the course, and drove right into it. The vehicle rolled up the wall, then inevitably lost its balance and flipped. The driver seat twisted with the bubble’s movement, always keeping the driver right side up. The wheels shifted so they were now on the floor. The seat turned, so the driver was facing away from the wall, and he began driving like nothing had ever happened.
The investors now seemed much more interested. That was good, so Jerry kept going. “It features a wide array of motors that will ensure the driver is always right side up, and facing whatever direction they need to go in. Not only is reversing a thing of the past, but any collision with large objects might as well not even happen. But, you may ask, what happens if it lands on its side?”
The driver picked up as much speed as the vehicle could muster and hit a large, steep ramp with one wheel. It did the expected thing and tilted before toppling onto its side. The rounded hubcap made it wobble and list oddly. Then it started moving. The hubcap proved to be another, smaller wheel. It was not as steady as when both normal wheels were on the ground, and it took the rough terrain much less effectively, but it drove. Eventually, the driver was able to get the vehicle righted and back on both wheels.
“No collision will flip this car. Nothing will shake it. No normal accident will keep it from righting itself and keeping on the road. Now, it’s not invincible, but it’ll take one hell of a collision to put this thing out of commission. Now, it’s not perfect. Obviously, the looks aren’t great. And it doesn’t have a long travel time, or a high max speed. But with your help, I feel confident that we can make it move faster, drive longer, be better at what it does, and look great doing it. So, gentlemen, what do you think?”
“We’ll give it some consideration. If we agree you’ll hear from us within the week.”
“Of course, sirs. An opportunity this great doesn’t come without risk, so I understand you needing to think it over. If you’ll join me for refreshments, I have some written material for you to look over, and you can talk to some of the fine people who worked on it.”
Jerry guided the investors off of the testing grounds and to an indoor area with everything he mentioned. He just hoped this would be enough to really sway them to invest.
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I'd drive a car like this. It might look silly, but sometimes that's the price of progress.
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