Chapter 10: Palora, The Final Race

Neo felt himself shake a little bit as his body could feel the cold breeze struck his body. Shivering was something he had been unused to, even if everyone else seemed fine and cozy. He grabbed his jacket as he wore another layer of warm clothing over his main set of racing gear. He stood not far from the makeshift open plain track.

Palora was not the most hospitable of individuals in the UWA. Unlike the original desert-like environment of Cipra, Palora was the exact opposite. It was an entire world encased in snow. It had to be one of the coldest habitable worlds ever to exist. The landscape had to be nothing but white and light blue. Even for being in the equator, he often wondered how the Palorans had been used to such a place. The population walked around in shorts and flip-flops at -3 degrees Celsius, and it was the warmest time period of the entire year.

Regardless, despite the cold temperatures, it seemed that Palora had been a viable place to live. The population had been more than used to living in this place as there were several small cities that persisted in the equator of the planet. There was a certain beauty that the place had. Even now, Neo remarked on the partially tree-covered landscape. The Paloran ice trees were nothing like he had seen before. Some supposedly up north or south had gigantic overtops that had heavy layers of snow that blanketed them. The thick stems and branches could easily handle the pressing weight of the frozen water north and south. Further along, the equator was smaller tree types. These equator-like ice plants had firm stems with vein-like protrusions that jutted from the sides. These veins supposedly reinforced the bark and helped protect the plant life from freezing and killing it. They were better evolved than the trees of former Earth that also struggled with cold temperatures, at least before global warming had destroyed them.

From where he stood, Neo had a firm view of everything. The location was relatively flat, although there were a couple of snowy hilltops and mountains in the extreme distance. Sporadic trees dotted the area, at least around the tracks. Not far from the track was the N’jip assault carrier that served as a warm place for Oluchi and Meifen to operate in. A thin layer of snow had already covered the top of the vessel as if it had been there for days. The track was amazingly simple. It was more or less a curved rectangular area. There seemed to be no challenge in having to race it, yet, he was more than aware of the dangers this place posed. Frozen lakes, geothermal hotspots, and jutting rocks lay in some portions. However, most of the jutting cliff formations of rocks persisted near turn 4.

“Ugh...,” Neo remarked as he breathed. He could see his breath look like a misty cloud. It only served to remind him of the cold as he looked at the workshop tents that had been established. Warming generators helped to keep the few stands and buildings from freezing over. Even the announcer had refused to leave his booth to stay warm. The location of the track was quite far from the nearest city of Congelada de Tijuana. However, it didn’t stop several snow buggies and snow trucks from pulling in. There, the families and spectators would get a chance to observe the races while enjoying the coziness of being inside their vehicles. Regardless, the Palorans, which had many resemblances to the people of former Central and South America, walked around and handled the cold like it was nothing.

“Still having a hard time adjusting to the cold?” a familiar voice asked near him. Neo turned to the side to see that it was Cordeina. She was playing with her hair a little bit. He noticed that the Shal’rein still didn’t seem to be bothered too much by the different environment. With the exception of small little feet wraps, she still wore scantily clad clothing.

“Damn, I wish I had that sort of resiliency,” he commented as he looked upon her. “Seriously, how do you handle these different temperatures?”

She shrugged. “You just have to have our genes, my mate.” There was a strong smile that came from her face. It caused him to shake his head in response. The special gloves that he had still didn’t fully keep his hands warm. He breathed onto it in some faint hope of warming them up.

“I still don’t understand how you Itreans have adapted so well to all this shit or why people try to live on this world. It’s so ... open...,”

“Atrea was like that.”

“No ... New Atrea still had things going on,” Neo explained. “That village might have been remote, but you could still tell that it had activity and things going on. There was life everywhere. Here ... it’s just empty cold. This is a backwater of a place that’s just fucking cold.”

“Ah ... you’re complaining like some rich Aksren,” she haplessly said as she waved her hand. Then she put her hand to her mouth. “Oh ... I didn’t mean to say it that way. That was wrong of me.”

“I’m not an Aksren. I’m not insulted.”

“No ... I don’t think I will break that habit of stereotyping. I’m sorry.” She went and put her large hand to his shoulder. “Besides ... what I was trying to say was that you’re missing out on the reason why people want to live here.”

“What do you mean? And ... how do you know?”

“I was ... on this planet before ... enjoying the hot springs.”

“The hot springs?” he asked.

“Yeah...,” she said with slyness. She waged her fin-like tail. “You don’t know about the main tourist attraction of this place?”

“No ... I’ve heard of Palora but always avoided it like the plague. I’ve heard of the occasional crime and shit that can happen here. It’s supposed to be like Beurum Lagos back on Oshun.”

“Oh, the crime is only in a few places,” she quickly dismissed his claim. “I never encountered any of it.”

“Yeah, it’s a little hard to steal from something that stands over them,” he joked.

“Hmmm, that’s a good point.” She decided to change the topic. “You know...,” she leaned her head to his as she got close to him. “I’ve been looking at the list for things that’s going to happen. After this race ... I think I found a set of hot springs that are a few kilometers southeast from here. It’s far enough away that we can go to there later on today.”

A set of hot springs ... the idea seemed comforting to hear for Neo. Anything sounded better than to stand in the cold. The image of being in warm water with his wives was a profound and excellent idea. He was intrigued with the concept, but he did have questions.

“Umm, let’s see ... the carrier is planning on leaving with Gip’grenda after this race. Weren’t we supposed to have a transport come to pick everyone else up later after this?”

Cordeina put her hands together as she stepped up to look down at him. “Actually, I have already taken care of all of that,” she said.

“You did?”

“Yes! While all of you were at the races and working on your vehicles, I went and made contacts with a transport ship. It will pick up all of us, our belongings, and the vehicles and bring us back to Oshun. Vala’rein and Serrein like the idea too. I just ... didn’t tell you that till just now.”

“I don’t have a problem with it. When is it coming?”

“At 2100. I even made arrangements with the carrier so that they would leave some food and things for us. Don’t worry. I got all of this covered.”

“Wow ... sounds like you have been on the ball when it comes to all of this.”

“I did,” she sounded excited as she clapped her hands together. “I have the perfect place for all of us to go and enjoy our time together. I promise.”

Neo smiled at her. “Sounds great.”

“I want to get a chance to talk about our new home too when you get a chance. I’ve been looking at a place we can live on Beurum Lagos.”

“Ugh ... didn’t I just mention about the?...”

“No, no! I found the perfect place safe and away from the ghettos. Rich and big home with a swimming pool as the living room. The T’rintar clan is paying for it all.”

“Wow...,” he shook his head in surprise. “I guess the clan wasn’t kidding about their promises. They must have been happy with the video of us doing it.”

“They were more than happy. They still expect the next series of videos to be made, which I already have prepped and taken care of tonight.”

Neo shook his head. “I feel like I’m being made into some porn star. It’s ... an odd feeling.”

“That’s perfectly natural to feel that way, Neo,” she consoled him. “Even as a Kerein’Shaltara, I always tried to limit such open scenes of sexual displays to the outside world.”

“I’m surprised to hear that. I would have expected it the other way. You were very natural in how you engaged in sex and let it so freely be recorded.”

“That’s because it’s important for everyone to see it. It’s a matter of life or death for the future of our races. I imagine that even Kerein would smile upon me for committing to the actions that I’ve made.”

He nodded his head. “I agree. I think that she would be happy too. What about Vala’rein?”

“What do you mean?”

“She wants to have a vineyard.”

“She is ok with this idea for now.” She took a deep breath as she patted her hand to her stomach. “This was a good choice,” she asserted to him. “I’m looking forward to seeing what’s coming for our future.”

“Me too,” he said as he smiled at her.

She then gave a sly smile to him. “So ... the question is who is going to get pregnant first tonight.”

“What?”

“Will it be Vala’rein or Serrein?”

He seemed to think about it. “I don’t understand.”

“Their cycles will be the same time ... It will be an interesting race to see who gets it first.”

Of course. Neo already knew what she was implying. He still remembered a week ago when Cordeina gave her that stimulant that altered Serrein’s cycle. The memories of her being all up on Cordeina as the good doctor practically ran away in terror were the highlight of that night.

Another obvious situation was the fact that he couldn’t make love with Serrein or Vala’rein for several days. This was to ensure that both of them wouldn’t get pregnant before the big recording. Cordeina had to take up much of the slack on this, and it was the sacrifice of what the T’rintar clan wanted. Regardless, his thoughts went to the other two Shal’rein that were preparing to race. His sights focused on Vala’rein.

“You really love her...,” she said as she could tell where he was looking.

“What do you mean? I love all of you.”

She shook her head. “Such a kind way to say it, but I mean that I can see it when we’re all in bed or the pool together. You are much closer to her ... to Vala’rein.”

“Umm...,” he scratched the back of his head as she waved her hand at his direction.

“Don’t feel bad. This is expected in a polygamous mateship. You have established Vala’rein as the alpha female. It is natural to see her in that way. She was your first mate of all three of us.”

“I don’t know if I view it that way.”

“Yes, it is. Vala’rein is the strongest of us all. You have bonded with her before all of us. I knew it right from the start that you cared for her the most. I don’t take it as an insult, my mate. This isn’t a normal relationship for many of us. It isn’t normal for the Itreans, and I know that human men are capable of great compassion. When you said that you wished to see her pregnant before me, I knew that I needed to do something about it.”

“I still can’t believe that you delayed Serrein’s cycle.”

She looked down and away. “It was necessary ... but worth doing it.”

Neo could hear music that was being played in the distance. A set of new vehicles were arriving by the starting line. More and more spectators were coming. The music was that of a slow synthwave. There was a bit of a Caribbean steel drum tone that was added to it as well. It was serving as a reminder to Neo that the next race was going to start soon. He took a deep breath, knowing that the short championship was almost over.

“Look at all the losers at this race!” Meifen called out as she pointed at the stream of racers on the track. The gloating Martian racer tugged on her extra jacket to go along with her red ponytail-styled hair. She put her finger to her hip as she made a slight laugh.

“Oh,” the announcer happily said. “Looks like Meifen is taunting the other racers again. Come on and give them a sporting chance, Meifen.”

“Oh, I will. It doesn’t matter because I’ll win in the end! First place is all but assured!”

Neo was not far from his motorcycle. He rolled his eyes as he sighed. He turned to look back at the other racers. Serrein was grumbling to herself as she also sighed next to her hoverbike. She was positioned upfront next to Neo. Behind him were Vala’rein and Oluchi. They had appeared all but used to hearing the taunting words of the Martian racer. Behind them was Meifen and her motorcycle and Gip’grenda and her hoverbike.

The turnout was what was expected. Because of the remote location, the Palorans had about fifty vehicles that covered the side of the main portion of the track. Neo could hardly call the portion of the track a road at all. The snow was everywhere. If there was such thing as pavement, then the snow and ice had clearly consumed it. Tiny neon lights marked the edges. Aerial drones were everywhere, as were staff vehicles and even utility vehicles to service the crowd. The weather was fine amongst the snow-covered landscape. In fact, it was the only thing that seemed to keep everything warm during the late morning. Clear skies with only a few white clouds persisted. This was all but commonplace in the central equator as the wildlife had adapted to variations in cold climates. It was the perfect time to race.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final race of the UWALVR!” the announcer called out. His voice echoed in the makeshift speakers and drones. Unlike the previous races, this barely had any form of standing ovation as the spectators were mostly by their vehicles.

“One more race...,” Neo said as he briefly patted the rear tire of his bandigara.

“Before we get started with the sixth and final race,” the announcer explained. “I do have a special announcement to make. If any of you have been wondering, there has been a lot of viewer feedback on how short this championship is and how short each race is. Since we have lost the colony of Cipra, we have been reduced not only in tracks but also at a reduced state entirely. The UWALVR racing committee wishes to apologize for how brief these series of races are, but we have been making negotiations with the T’rintar clan. We want to state that UWAN rumors have been stating various opinions, but we want to officially announce and clear out anything that has been misstated on various sites and media.”

Neo was beginning to wonder where this was going. He had only heard of a faint rumor, but even he didn’t know what was going to be stated.

“According to the UWALVR committee, I will state this officially from what has been passed down to me. I will quote, ‘We at the UWALVR feel that in need to further our relations with the T’rintar clan and to meet spectator demands, thereby conclude that the 2350 UWALVR is an experiment to further expand upon those demands. Thereby, we feel that as of now, there will be another UWALVR championship to be conducted near the end of this year. This new championship will be conducted annually. There will be twelve exciting tracks instead of six, and the races will be based on six laps instead of two. Additional racers from the UWA and the T’rintar clan will also be allowed to participate.’ Wow, isn’t that exciting, folks!?”

“Wow,” Neo commented in surprise. There was a set of clapping in the distance as Neo stood in amazement to hear the news. Not only was this restoring the races to their full status, but it also expanded upon it greatly. It only made sense, and it made him happy to hear it, but he had to stow the excitement as the announcer continued.

“With that being said,” the announcer continued. “We still have one final race to complete. The committee still looks at this championship with great reverence. All T’rintar clan members of this race can still walk with the medal and acknowledgment that they can race with the best that the UWA has to offer. Neo stands at a total of 11 points. Vala’rein stands a total of 19 points. Oluchi has 22 points, Serrein with 26, and Gip’grenda has 34. Meifen, the current championship highest, has a total score of 46 points. Even if Meifen does hold the highest score, there is still a chance for Gip’grenda to lose her position in third place if she isn’t careful.”

Neo was almost expecting Meifen to further gloat about her victory, but she was quiet. Perhaps the news had silenced her excitement, or she had simply done enough damage. He knew that in all aspects that this race wouldn’t do anything to help him bounce up in the charts, but it was a difficult championship, nonetheless. He could at least take the pride that he was able to serve and help out in various scenarios. The last race, if anything, seemed to boost the amount of email fan messages that he was receiving. His thoughts began to dwindle more on the upcoming and unannounced races in the future.

“With our last track, we traverse through the snowy winter wonderland of Palora,” the announcer explained. “Here, it is a simple rectangular track that works its way back here. This track takes us through two portions of completely frozen lakes, including the small Aztec Canyon just south of us. All racers are fully aware of the dangers that this track contains as it remains the second deadliest of all six tracks.”

Neo looked behind him at the expanse of the canyon. It certainly was overwhelming to gaze upon. He would have to concentrate on it once it finally arrived.

“And with that ... all racers mount your vehicles and start your engines!”

Upon hearing it, Neo took a deep breath as he climbed into the canopy of his pod. The motorcycle creaked a little bit as the extra weight pressed into the snowy road. The moment that he began to lay down on his stomach, he felt a slight pain in his shoulder. He quickly ignored it as he activated the engine and started to power up the vehicle. The canopy door overhead closed up. The central computer activated immediately as the internal sensors could realize that the outside temperatures were cold. It started to power up the heaters. Neo tapped a few buttons to ensure that the temperatures were slightly below room temperature since he was already wearing warm clothing.

“Ah...,” he said as he could feel the warm heat hit him. “That feels so much better. I can actually feel my hands again.”

He began to check the displays in his vehicle. Ahead was the extended portion of the track. The other vehicles started to power up as well. Their engines seemed to work perfectly in the colder temperature. The computer on his motorcycle could recognize the fact that there was snow. Small paddles and stubby spikes protruded from his flex tires to help it brace for the environment.

As a tradition, Neo felt like doing it. He pressed his foot to the pedal as his engine began to make a light but medium pitch sound that reverberated throughout the track landscape. For a few seconds, he could enjoy the glory of it till Vala’rein responded in kind. He looked at his display as he could see the Shal’rein woman give the nod in his direction. Her wheel bike’s deep reverberating hum echoed and took over. They both let off as Meifen decided to rev up her engine. It was so loud that Neo could swear that the snow was shaking on the road.

“One more time,” he said as the Martian racer said. For a fleeting moment, he felt a sense of dread, but it quickly dissipated. Perhaps it was just the environment. In all reality, the course looked simple and easy, but even his reviews told him otherwise. He had to be careful.

One of the light-emitting drones came flying overhead. It hovered into position over the starting line. All his status was shown to be green. He took another deep breath as he gripped the steering wheel. The music began to pick up as it turned into a Mexican dance beat mixed with heavy amounts of electro drumbeats. He was ready...

The scene was tense as all six vehicles lay in wait. The calm hum of their engines was all that could be heard. The light drone began its countdown as it showed red light, then orange, then orange again. It turned yellow and then green.

Neo pressed down on the accelerator as his bike took off. The other vehicles followed in pursuit as the racers started to pick up speed. Technically, the hoverbikes had a slight advantage right from the start as they didn’t have to worry about the snow slowing them down. Regardless, the snow flew back from Neo’s bike along with the other grounded racing vehicles. It was somewhat sluggish, but the tires gripped onto the ground very well. Parts of the bottom pavement could be seen exposed from the tossed-up snow.

“And they’re off!” the announcer said. “Final race, two laps!”

“First one is the warm-up straightaway,” Neo remarked as he could see his speedometer increase dramatically. It started at 50 kilometers an hour and then went to 100. His bandigara seemed to do rather well. The military vehicle was more than adept at traveling on different terrain. Much like the sandy beaches of the alien world, this was racing on snow. There was a profound difference, but it still translated to the same thing for the military motorcycle. Vala’rein also seemed to do rather well as the other vehicles began to speed up more and more.

He started to hit 200 kilometers an hour as the first turn was beginning to come up. In the far distance ahead was the assault carrier. With the simplicity of the track, the lights would naturally advise that a simple soft ninety-degree turn to the left was coming up. He let off the accelerator pedal as he made his turn. The other vehicles replied in earnest. The tugging motion seemed to hold out rather well. There was still such a heavy amount of snow that the bikes didn’t slide too much. However, it flew around in all directions as each vehicle was starting to clear out the track.

“Looks like we are at a good start so far, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said. “So far, the turn is handled rather well. Conditions are rather good, but the track has been covered in a heavy amount of snow. There is pavement below that snow, and the racers will really not notice it until the second lap depending on where they travel across.”

The turn was wide to allow an adequate amount of sliding, but surprisingly, there was really little. Neo could see that this was going to be the same route for each of the turns. As long as you weren’t driving at the fastest of speeds, then the vehicles should handle it just fine. After leaving the first turn, he began to notice that the rightward lights were different, having a yellow light rather than the left side being red. The track also further widened. This allowed an extra amount of room upon speeding up. Unfortunately, the vehicle was speeding up more and more as he could see that he was starting to hit 250 kilometers an hour.

“So far, so good,” the announcer said. “All the racers are taking the beginning at a good steady pace as they will be approaching turn two. They will be having plenty of room to allow them to expand outward. Even with the amount of space, it’s important that they don’t get too carried away as they can still hit the next turn too hard and lose the lead advantage.”

Neo kept his foot down on the accelerator pedal as he reached speeds of about 350 kilometers an hour. By now, the layer of snow began to blast outward in the side and rear directions. This was another prime reason for the room. Even though capable of handling the cold weather and attuned to repel it, the cameras on the vehicles could still get overwhelmed or blind a racer if not careful. A few vehicles began to separate outward, but the turn naturally caused everyone to lean together again. He let off the accelerator pedal as the famed straightaway of this track was coming up. He was careful as he pulled to the left. He could hear a lot of snow being kicked to the side. Blanketing white plumes could be seen as the vehicle naturally slowed down a little bit.

The moment that he was finishing the turn, he could see Gip’grenda dash on ahead. Serrein was really close to Neo as well, but it was starting to look like the hoverbikes were having an advantage in this track. They still had to worry about the wash of snow, but they didn’t have to worry about touching the ground.

“Gip’grenda is slipping into first,” the announcer said. “The racers are now reaching the long straightaway. Here the rules apply that any contender can go beyond the yellow line if they wish as long as they don’t cut into the red lights on their left. Two portions of the frozen lake will be exposed to them if they wish to race on the track pavement below or across the ice.”

Neo could clearly see the track layout. The yellow lights were spaced so far from the right side that it was almost ridiculous. Only the distant trees tended to serve any form of a natural barricade, but only to a point. Nobody would ever venture that far anyway. The red lights, however, were brightly lit. He began to hit speeds of 300 kilometers an hour as he had to speed back up again. With a virtually straight road, it wouldn’t be difficult, but there were some interesting challenges. For one, while it might have seen viable to drive as close to redline as possible, the enormous amount of room was something that Neo had been keeping in mind. As his motorcycle began to hit 375 kilometers an hour, the snow being ejected was increasing. This applied to how Vala’rein, Meifen, and even Oluchi’s vehicles were working.

While Serrein and Gip’grenda seemed to have the upper hand, even they still had to work hard. The straightaway was quite long. With so much room, Meifen easily slipped on through as her powerful engine could be clearly heard. Some of the vehicles went past the cautionary yellow line as they used the spacing to gather speed.

“Come on, come on,” Neo said to himself as he could feel the intensity of the track. The diagram layout of the track was shown on his display. This area had its own quirk to it. Supposedly, the paved road was parked onto the edges of two lakes, one big one and the other being smaller on the other side of the track. This frozen water had apparently gone over the pavement. The temperature was just fitting that the lakesides could be clearly seen. Here, the snow was at the minimum or not at all. You had several choices to make. One, you could try to avoid the ice or drive straight through it. There were advantages and disadvantages to either one. Driving on the snow did warrant a higher amount of traction but could also slow you down by the resistance. The faster the vehicle got, the higher the chances of hydroplaning to certain degrees. Even the computer systems would continually adjust as the tires would change shape and direction to handle the vast speed implementations.

The other choice was to race on the ice, which would happen to certain degrees on the straightaway approach. Driving through this would warrant little to no snow. It would be slightly easier to see but earn less traction. In an attempt at going straightforward, the impact was marginal, but it might have an effect on the constant acceleration. Regardless, as he began to hit 400 kilometers an hour, he had a firm layout of the lake edge. Visually, it was like something he had never truly seen before. It had a nice heavy layer of a light blue tinge to it.

“Looks like Meifen is accelerating rather well in the straightaway,” the announcer explained. “If she can keep this up, she can end up passing Serrein and Gip’grenda. Racers have the choice of going towards the ice or trying to stay on the snow. I’ve seen most racers do well just at the yellow area section.”

Neo was inclined to agree. Even Vala’rein was virtually driving right next to him. She had been gaining speed as well as her wheel bike cut through the snow like a butter knife. If anything. Special attachments that she had put on even had skis near the bottom front and front sides. This helped serve as a smooth balancing system with how the vehicle was handled against the constant frozen conditions.

He heard the ravaging sounds of Meifen’s motorcycle as she pushed past him and up ahead. They had reached speeds of 500 kilometers an hour. Finally, the lake edge arrived as his motorcycle touched the ice.

The computer system picked up the sudden change. The flex tires altered in shape so that additional spikes were deployed but maintained a virtually flat connection to the frozen water. It felt suddenly different. It was as if all resistance was gone. In many ways, to him, he felt free. The hardware knew what it was doing. It was continually making calculation after calculation in anticipation of a possible spin out or loss of control. If anything, he could almost let off the steering wheel while the bandigara autopiloted itself. The frozen layer of water was particularly thick, being easily traversable without the fear of breaking under the tension.