A Frolic in the Froth
"Hello Devon!" Michael cheered from his tan driver's seat. "Please tell me that I have the day off."
"You have the day off." Devon announced with a winning smile. "Be ready tomorrow at precisely 10 am."
"Thank you Devon!" Michael's jubilant smile was even bigger. Instantly, he began pressing buttons above his head. "See ya tomorrow."
"Have-" Devon's knowing smile vanished into a blank screen.
"You didn't have to cut him off so quickly." Kitt pointed out.
"Relax Buddy." Michael patted his dash with a smile. "It's our day off. You know what that means?"
"Yeah," Kitt groaned with an eye roll. "The beach."
"You love the beach, Kitt." Michael pointed out with a playful nod.
"Don't you mean that you love the beach. All I get is hot asphalt parking lots, kids bumping into me, and their parents hitting my frame with beach chairs, coolers, and overloaded wagons." Kitt groused as the memories of his last beach day lingered in his memory banks a little too long.
"Kitt," Michael began with a grin. "My beach day is your beach day. No more hot parking lots for you Buddy. Drop me off at the water and go explore. I wanna hear all about it when you get back."
Kitt's CPU stuttered for a millisecond. He had never been given full autonomous permission before now.
Before he could warily agree, his prime directives warred, 'Protect your Driver.' "Michael, how will I better help protect you if I am away?" Kitt edged while carefully choosing his words.
"I have my Comlink Kitt." Michael announced as he fidgeted with it to make his point. "I am ordering you to go have fun Kitt. Drop me here."
Kitt slid to a halt along a long stretch of White Zone sidewalk. He could see grainy sidewalks leading down to the powdery white sand.
Michael grabbed his wide brimmed hat and slapped it on his head before reaching into the backseat for his tossed beach bag. "See ya at 8 o'clock. I wanna hear how much fun you had."
Michael slammed the car door in time to catch a glimpse of a girl in a pink string bikini roller skate passed him. "Hmmm…" He hummed as he chased after her.
Kitt sat there quietly computing just what Michael had asked. "How do I 'have fun'?"
Still contemplating, Kitt pulled easily back into the staggered traffic. Where can an advanced AI embedded in a futuristic car have fun on a beach?
Curious, Kitt researched beaches that he would be allowed to drive on.
Successfully, he found Fiesta Island on Mission Bay beach in San Diego. That was only an hour's drive from here.
Kitt plotted the fastest route and merged onto the freeway. Traffic was light. And with some careful liberties, he arrived at the one-way loop in 35 minutes.
After a quick scan of the popular but not loaded beach, Kitt found a tall pine tree offering shade only meters from the foamy water's edge. He locked in on it and drove to the asphalt's sandy edge.
The hot fluffy sand was thick and deep. 'Thank you Bonnie for the High Tension Drop Downs.' He celebrated to himself.
With a loud PSSHHhhh, inch long spikes popped out of his tires and hydraulics lifted his frame almost a foot higher.
Confident that he was well prepared, KITT rolled slowly onto the beach. This definitely wasn't his first time driving on sand or even on a beach. But, it surely was his first for doing it alone.
For a second there, Kitt missed Michael. They were a team like Butch and Sundance. Maybe he should go back?
'I want to hear all about it when I get back.' Played back in his memory.
Feeling obligated, Kitt pushed through the sinking sand with no trouble at all. He actually enjoyed shooting it out behind him as far as he could.
All too soon, he arrived at his new destination. He named it Pine to Sand to Surf. Yeah, he'd come up with a better name later.
Relieved to be out of the unrelenting beating rays of the sun, Kitt actually sighed as he settled to enjoy his amazing view of the crashing waves.
Michael was right. This is very therapeutic. Kitt was close enough to feel the thrum of the crashing waves. Quiet enough to hear the crying of the soaring seagulls. And shaded enough to cool off without getting cold.
"Mommy," a little girl's voice shattered Kitt's peace. "I wanna build it over there."
Kitt looked over to her curiously. She was pointing right at him. Of course, she would be pointing at him.
The little girl was about 5 years old and carrying a plastic bucket and shovel. Focused solely on him, she was running full blast while swinging the bucket at her side. She had the biggest joyful smile Kitt had ever seen.
"Hi," she greeted him with that smile. "I wanna play with you."
"Hi," he replied still relaxed but curious. He loved making new friends. "What are you building?"
She proudly thrust her bucket and shovel at Kitt, "We are building castles."
"SKY!" An older woman wrapped in a thin white terry cloth robe ran over. "Please don't run away like that. Leave these people alone." She grabbed Sky by the elbow and began to lead her way. "Come on!"
"Bye!" She yelled over her shoulder at Kitt.
"Nice to meet you Sky!" Kitt projected back.
Feeling bored and a little bit sad, now that he lost his company, he deeply pondered what Michael would want him to do next.
As if some supernatural being was reading his mind, A particularly large wave crashed onto the beach and rolled to within a foot of his tires.
Epiphanies were not unusual for an AI such as Kitt. Though rare. He loved a good one when it seemed to come out of nowhere.
Firing up his turbine engine, he prepared to do something that even Michael hadn't tried with him before.
Finding a clear half mile of beach, Kitt headed for the water's edge. The randomly crashing waves gave him some trouble calculating. But he secretly loved random variables. They made life interesting.
Kitt gently nudged to the bubbling edge of the waterline. The wetter sand here felt vastly different under his tires. But it wasn't a bad feeling.
Kitt was so close to the water now that the spray from the crashing waves was fogging up his windshield and front sensors. Luckily, it wasn't a problem for him. He has more sensors than Fort Knox. With a quick swish, he did his best to clear it.
"Do It!" A young man from not far off yelled towards Kitt.
He quickly considered what the young man wanted. Not quite sure, he questioned, "What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Get Wet!" The young man yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth.
Kitt understood instantly. Feeling adventurous, he gunned his powerful turbine engine and released his brakes. He shot through the wet sand like it was pavement. It almost felt like he was floating until…
KWOOSH
Running parallel between the soft sandy beach and the crashing wet waves, Kitt punched hard into his first cresting wave. He was closer than he thought. The deluge of salty water hammered into him hard. Blue and green water cascaded down all of his windows in rivers.
Kitt typically didn't enjoy getting so dirty. But the cool refreshing water sliding down his MBS on all sides excited him.
Punching the throttle a little harder, he dove into another particularly large wave. It washed over him like a bath.
After his third or fifth wave, he lost count, Kitt wanted to dry off a bit. Still feeling the rush of driving into sheer walls of foamy water, he decided to play in the wet washed sand. He gunned his responsive engine and threw his steering into a slide.
The once compact sand gave way instantly. Kitt's power slide shot beach sand a good 6 feet into the air.
But, it dug him in.
"Too Far." Kitt berated himself out loud.
"He's stuck." Someone yelled from a distance. "Amateurs!"
Kitt focused his salty and sandy video sensors on the guy yelling from the beach.
"Joey, get the truck!"
"Got It!" Another guy in Bermuda shorts yelled back.
Within 10 minutes, an older 70's style lifted Dodge Ram Diesel rumbled its way over sand dunes headed straight for an embarrassed Kitt.
"We'll have you out in a jiffy." Joey, the Bermuda shorts guy proclaimed loudly.
"Thank you." Kitt offered meekly. "This is embarrassing."
Sure enough, they clipped on a metal tow line and gunned their over-powered 70's truck. Easily, it tugged Kitt out of the hole.
"Next time," Joey chastised with a wide grin. "No power slides."
"No kidding." Kitt agreed with an internal laugh. "Thank you very much for your assistance."
"No Problem." Joey shrugged as he tossed his tow cables back into the back of his truck.
Deciding that caution was the better part of valor now, Kitt headed back to his Pine to Sand to Surf spot. A break to reflect what he did right and wrong was definitely in order.
On his way back to his pine tree, Kitt's Metal Detecting Sensor pinged. Whatever it found, it was larger than a coin. Curious, Kitt lined up his back wheels over it. After very meticulous calculations as to not get stuck again, Kitt cautiously pumped on the gas.
TINK
Something metal hit a nearby rock. Kitt rushed over to inspect his newest treasure. He found and recovered a small metal figurine of a hippopotamus. It was only two inches by two inches and rusted solid. Welp, there went treasure.
Knock, Metal Detecting on the Beach, off of his To-Do List.
That's when Kitt noticed that sunset was quickly approaching. The pale blue sky was turning a warm yellow red.
"What time is it," He asked himself before checking his chronometer.
19:27
"Oops," Kitt mumbled as he headed towards the exit. As soon as he was near the edge of the asphalt, he lowered and sucked in his High Tension Drop Downs. He slid onto the pavement at 30mph and corrected for the loose sand while still slipping. Of course, he left behind a couple of dark skid marks like the graffiti of an artist.
"Two minutes late," a sunburned Michael tsked at Kitt. He lazily popped open Kitt's trunk and dropped his sandy beach stuff inside. "I've never seen you two minutes late."
Michael took two healthy steps back to assess Kitt's filthy condition. "And look at you. You look like you went two rounds with a sand dune and lost." He laughed heartily.
"You," Kitt shot back. "Look like an overripe tomato."
Michael continued laughing as he took his seat behind Kitt's yoke steering wheel. "Looks like you had fun. Want to tell me while we find you a good car wash?"
"I did have fun Michael." Kitt declared a little too excited. "I picked a spot. I relaxed. I played in the water. I met new friends. And Michael," he paused for effect. "I even found treasure while Metal Detecting."
Michael chuckled at Kitt's exuberance. "Sounds like you had fun at the beach after all." He patted the dash companionably.
"I did, Michael." Kitt admitted graciously. "Thank You."
Michael carefully aimed his cruddy Kitt into the nearest automatic car wash that he could find. After paying for the most expensive car wash that they offered, Michael announced with an evil grin, "The very worst part of going to the beach, Buddy. Is finding sand in places that sand doesn't belong weeks to months later. Good Luck."
"What?" Kitt asked shocked.
But before he could continue, the car wash's machine fired up like a jet engine and drowned anything he could ask.