The interior smelled like pine air freshener. She looked around quickly. It was clean, the seat next to her was gray and plush. The driver’s and passenger’s seats were still there, as was the steering wheel. This was just an ordinary SUV turned into a self-driving car. A kind of evolution. Interesting. Her mom knocked on the window, and Zelu was shocked when it opened in response. She and her mom looked at each other for a moment, then both laughed. “Wow,” her mother said, a surprised look on her face. “I know,” Zelu agreed.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m just going to the lake,” she told Zelu. “I’ll be fine.”
“Call me if you need me. I can come get you.”
“Please prepare for your journey,” an automated voice announced. The mother jumped back, as if the SUV was going to run over her suddenly.
“Relax, Mom,” she said to Zelu. “Its sensors know you’re there. He won’t move until you’re a safe distance away.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” her mother said.
“You’re getting ready.”
Her mother waved as the vehicle slowly drove away. Zela waved back.
And then she was completely alone, and her life was in the hands of the SUV.
“This is so weird,” she muttered as she watched the steering wheel move on its own. It was the first time she was alone in a moving vehicle. No one was there, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a presence; something had control. It was like being driven by a ghost. “Or should I say Nobody,” she said to herself, laughing.
When the vehicle stopped to turn onto the main road, her joy faded.
She believed in the science behind self-driving vehicles. The technology had been around for years, and she had been researching this new taxi service for the past few months. The idea that she could order one with her phone like an Uber and not have to deal with a human being looking at her strangely, asking awkward questions, being a serial killer and so on was a wonderful thought. More importantly, it would free her from her family. Whenever she asked one of them for a ride, they would respond with this strange mixture of pity, control, and duty. She thought they didn’t even know they had done it. It always made her feel pathetic and childish, even when she was driven by one of her younger siblings. Oh, get rid of that feeling.
However, at this moment she wanted to scream in panic. She dug her nails into the arms of her chair. Despite all the research and reassurances from the customer service people she spoke to, this was very different now that it was happening in real time. What if there was an error and it was calculated incorrectly? What if another driver does something crazy that the SUV can’t understand or adapt to? What if there was a solar flare and the whole car died?
“Shit!” she screamed as the SUV swerved. “I’m going to die!”
Then they were on the road. Zelu cried out and laughed in relief, still sweating from the bullets. The vehicle was going exactly at the speed limit, which meant that everyone else passed it. Several people did a double take, a few pointed, and two held up their phones to record video. Zelu was too stressed to pay attention. They were approaching the highway.