FEISAR HQ, Strasbourg, 17 June 2048
A week after the end of the season, the world was still trying to sober up from the first season of the AGRC, but the news, channels, Socials and even more magazines continued to give life and fuel to the growing Sport. The nearly three months of competition was enough to surpass the views of even one full year of events from the other motorsports.
The world was fully hooked now, it's up to the four Teams to see where everything would unfold.
Chris Robertson stood up from his chair and walked forward to meet in the eye everyone present in the large garage, and as soon as he gained the attention from the rest of the members, he opened up his arms with a joyous motion. "My sincere and deepest compliments for the great results we've achieved so far on this first Season! Everyone in this room did a splendid work from start to finish, and we're proud of our First Pilot for taking the third position overall in the title of Champion!" He declared proudly, before he'd clear his voice and resume. "With that said, we won't rest on our laurels and relax with these results in our pockets. From now on, every three weeks we'll move our main Team members from one HQ to another, so that we'll continue to see how every team has improved, or what projects they want to look more upon."
Barbara and the rest of the eleven Pilots looked at each other and remained happy to know that. For now, unless further stated, they had nearly three months to catch their breath and see what the Federation had in store for all of them for the next Season, whenever it'll be announced.
"Therefore, this group will move to Madrid in two weeks, and next we'll begin our well deserved Summer Break. The Test Pilot for each HQ will remain vital once our break will be over, so I'm looking forward to seeing you twelve in your best shape. Let's reach new heights, everyone!"
Lake Como, Piedmont, August 2048
Barbara spent the majority of her break back in her home at Como. The summer heat finally subsided with some long needed rainy days, the droplets creating intricate patterns on the flat surface of the lake as she gazed at it from her balcony with her mother. Before she'd return inside after savouring the refreshing air, the cellphone of Cristina began to ring in her pocket. Her expression lit up in the sudden call, she wasn't expecting any these days, but a frown appeared as soon as she noticed that the number wasn't present in any of her addresses registered in the phone.
"Pronto? Oh, you're from... oh, I see. That's interesting. Hmhm. Yes, I do own them still, in pristine conditions of course…" The woman began to walk away from their spot to talk to the mysterious person behind the line, leaving Barbara standing there with a puzzled expression in return, while the cold glass of her gin tonic condensed on her skin.
She returned after a few minutes, with her face lit by a bright smile, which meant that it wasn't something bad at least.
"Who called you?"
"It was the Museum of Modern Art of New York! They asked for the drawings of Antonio to bring them for their Exhibition for the 140th Anniversary of the birth of Futurism."
Barbara blanked there for a moment, before a loud gasp shook her. "The MoMa itself?"
The woman nodded with her unfading smile on her face. "Sure, it's been thirty years since a Museum asked for them again, but it's always nice to hear a curator asking for them! They plan to let it start around October and keep it running until April of next year. Quite the celebrations indeed I feel, and we'll be there to witness the Opening!"
Barbara moved off the balcony to go and hug her mother with a gleeful cry, which the older woman reciprocated with an equally happy noise.
"We can start by inviting more people as soon as we have the proper days in."
"Good idea! I think I might have some names in mind." Barbara replied as her gaze fell on her phone, and her smile warmed.
MoMa, New York, October 2048
The buffet was a long awaited relief from the two hour long introduction and later interview with everyone involved with the setup and organisation of the Exposition. It was also a good moment to chat with the rest, and finally hug tight long lost friends.
"So you truly came, Jaumé!" Cristina cheered while she set his best friend free from her hug. Tears shone through the corner of her eyes, as the familiar hold of him brought her back to the very last time she saw him.
"I had to use my days off from AG-Systems in a way or another, this was totally worth it." He paused, before he'd get hugged again by another way too familiar person just next to him.
"Hey, Barbara!" He exclaimed with joy as soon as he recognised her, before he'd break the hug and look at her with his eyes getting even more lucid. "You've grown so much, and I've heard and seen everything about you and your Team in Nova State City, well done!"
"And congratulations for your Team coming out as the winning one of the very first season, too! Guess we both had a lot to celebrate four months ago." Barbara replied back with a hearty pat on his back as soon as she got free from his hold. To her, he's part of her family, like a long lost uncle, even if now they still were on two separate sides of the world.
The conversation continued between their everyday lives and their overall experiences with their respective jobs at the pioneering squads. Belmondo was more busy with endless interviews for what Barbara and Cristina understood, with the same topic she had heard previously being brought back in between the chatters.
"The standardization thing, right?"
"Yeah, he doesn't seem much happy to see the other Classes involved, he views them as something which are uncalled for. I don't know, maybe he's right, but creating the Fighter and Agility ships after the Speed one felt like a further success of our achievements."
"Yeah, like experimenting even more, no?"
"Exactly, you stole the words off me once more, Barbara." He gently replied before he'd look back at Cristina, while his gaze dimmed a bit from his previous cheerfulness. "Also, I'm lowkey concerned about the Mag-Strips, Tina. Your glass sections are wonderfully crafted, but I'm not so convinced that it was the right material to use for such technology." He gave a long look around themselves, trying to see if there were anyone suspiciously familiar around them, but thankfully none of the Federation seemed there. With that out the way, he continued to talk in a whisper. "In one of our latest stress tests in Tokyo using that on our tracks, we had one of our Test Pilots ending up with a severe concussion for falling off the track and crashing upside down." He paused, earning some grim glances between the other two women.
"Pir-hana requested us to declare that it was an accident for not tuning the section properly while they'd file a complaint to check later, but trust me, we spent all the day with their Technicians to make it work, and it failed at the last moment when it simply... shut down. Poof, it fell asleep, zero energy surging through, for no clear reasons."
Barbara held her breath for a moment, as her face widened in horror. "This… makes almost sense, in a scary way. Now I understand why they put so many Speed Pads on those tracks..."
Jaumé was about to respond, but he was cut short upon seeing someone familiar entering the hall. "Nevermind, one of them is here. We might talk about it another time." He warned in his normal tone, looking at the newcomer with a small frown.
That wasn't the same reaction from the Italian Pilot, who believed that they were too busy to even accept her invitation - left hanging there with a simple "I'll let you know". Nothing mattered now, while she'd walk up hastly to their direction.
"Well, I hope I haven't disturbed your studying sessions, Malina." She said with a big smile on her face, arms open to welcome the Doctor.
In all response, Lindsday looked up at her and shook her head with a slow and cadenced manner. "It's fine, I have no exams or lessons on sight yet, so I was able to come here without any problem. I see that you're doing well, Barbara." The faintest of smiles formed on her maroon lips, impeccable as always with the gloss added to add more luminosity on her tanned face. It was short lived as her expression returned neutral, veiled with what seems actual guilt. "Also, I do apologise for not responding to your message before, I fell asleep in the aeroplane and forgot after."
"Oh, no problem! I'm glad that you're here." Barbara replied with a reassuring tone and a content look on her face.
Seeing her in her full-black attire, with only the fiery red pin of Pir-hana on the front of her blazer to add a splash of colour, and not in her working white coat, was almost a visual shock for Barbara - a pleasant one nonetheless. And most of all, she had shown some emotions! She feared that she'd remain all that broody and moody forever, but seeing her more relaxed in the Museum was a relief. Unfortunately, before she'd even shared a single word further, she got called back by Jaumé to attend a new interview, this time between her and her mother.
"Sorry, I'll catch up with you soon! Wait for me here!"
After the next hour of interviews, Barbara had finally the possibility to roam the halls and admire the pieces exposed. She reunited with Malina at the buffet area, she grabbed the QR Code of the floors and guided her through, while giving out the sensation that she had been through these spaces for a lifetime. Between Marinetti and Boccioni, to Balla and Severini, they had all the most important pieces of the First Futurism hanging in the curated spaces for them to shine, until they reached the room where the personal draws of the Sant'Elia were present, paired in diptychs with other draws of his contemporary Chiattone.
There, Malina remained to contemplate for some, scoffing quietly at herself.
"They were truly ahead of their time. I do wonder what they'd say if they saw what we did to NSC." She commented out loud while she'd look back at her.
Barbara crossed her arms all relaxed and nodded in agreement. "Or just the prototype of Belmondo. They were getting crazy already for the first cars and planes, imagine literal anti-gravity propulsors off those chassis we drive."
"Hmm." The Doctor hummed back, chuckling at the possible scene that'd unfold, then she'd return to focus on the framed draws.
The mother of Barbara at FEISAR boosted up this vision to be a reality, and her team from Pir-hana bended further the endless possibilities of their technology in those urban areas.
An incredible harmony.
A future dreamed over 140 years ago, and now they were just a few blocks away from said area.
"And this is just the beginning, I feel." Barbara suddenly said while she looked back at her, interrupting the stream of thoughts from the fellow Federation member. "Just like them, we are the 'Primitives of a new, completely transformed sensibility', imagine how many more things will happen from now on, what Belmondo might continue to create beside AG-Systems, what we can shape with this new technology, and who knows what more!"
The enthusiasm from the Pilot made Malina smile some more, and she wasn't wrong about it. With Nova State City itself, the Anti-Gravity Racing Championship, the Teams themselves, anything could happen.
They only had to move forward.
Metropolitan Hotel, Nova State City, 15 December 2048
The new Press Conference made by the Federation welcomed everyone from the Sport in its main hall, just like months ago at the final awards at the end of the Season. The four Teams sat there pretty much on the same previous spots of last time, and the global news were all pointing at Humpré himself with their cameras. He's now a familiar face on any screen and device like the rest of the CEOs and the Pilots, next to Belmondo.
"Welcome to this new conference, and I thank everyone who came here to attend this afternoon's conference for some important updates for the next Season." He began to speak on his bouquet of microphones in front of him, hushing the chatter all around himself broken only by the clicks of the cameras. "We announce that the new Season will begin on the 6th of March, 2049, in one of the first three new tracks which will be completed by the beginning of the new year." The screen flashed, and the new names appeared in a more polished hologram for the press to take notes about.
ROCKWAY STADIUM
DOWNTOWN
SUBWAY
"Most of them are adjacent to some previous tracks we've already seen, new repurposed areas where our spectators can enjoy a far more varied and richer calendar. Each race week will have a total of four events being held across the city, from Thursday to Sunday, with more peculiar races that we are sure that our fans will enjoy."
Then, it was the time for Belmondo to speak up. He stood up from his chair, while the claps increased for a bit until they died out quietly as soon as he got the spot of Humpré to sit on and face the spotlight.
"With a more diluted and balanced dose of events, and alternated weeks, we are sure that this would greatly help the organisers and the Teams to have a better schedule than the past one. Also, we've reworked the Points system, which will be applied from now on for a proper counting of both the Teams and their Pilots. Lastly, we'll grant the technicians to increase the maximum speed from the previous Class C to the higher Class B which we tested in the very last race." He paused as he gave a long, contemplating gaze in the hall, as the final words on the Press were obviously his in that moment. "With these new things set in mind, I do hope that the Championship will continue to unite everyone under this Sport. See you all back here in March!"
At the end of the long presentation of the new Season in its entirety, Barbara managed to invite Malina over for dinner in the City. At the table, the Italian Pilot rummaged through the bag to check if everything was still inside, her vintage camera included.
The moment she saw that, Malina's interest piqued right away. "Oh, has the photo been processed yet?"
Barbara stared blankly at her for a moment, before she erupted in a happy laugh. "The one where we were at the MoMa? Of course! It clears up after a minute or so, but… um, I think I forgot to show it to you then, sorry." She finished to say with genuine embarrassment before she'd bend down where the bag was left and start to rummage inside again, until she picked up the box used to keep the shots she made that day. It took nothing for her to eye at the one in question, pick it up and present it to the Doctor.
Malina stretched her hand with a badly concealed excitement and curiosity in her eyes, and once she could finally gaze at it, she was left in a mix of surprise and delight. A gentle smile appeared, while she'd look behind at the pen annotation.
"'Ms. Lindsday and Boccioni, MoMa, October 2048'." She paused in contemplation for the way she wrote her name, before she looked at herself again in that tiny rectangular frame, standing next to the bronze sculptures of the Futurist Artist. Although she wasn't much used to seeing such old and bidimensional pictures, she could say that it had its charm to keep memories that way.
As she handled the picture back to her, Barbara raised her palm in refusal and smiled.
"It's yours to keep, I had to do so as soon as it was done, but we ended up being in a rush with the hotel rooms and the plane tickets, heh. "
Malina remained with her mouth open with lots of things to say racing through her mind, she wanted to say no, that it was too much for her, that she had nowhere to keep it or store it before it could be damaged or worn out, that it belonged to her only… but nothing came out of her throat, only a hum of approval and a silent sigh.
"This is very kind of you, Barbara. Thank you. You were very kind to show me around the Museum that day."
"Don't sweat it, I hope I haven't bored you to death by overexplaining the art pieces." She responded with a shy smile in the end.
"No, you haven't. It was really interesting knowing it all from you."
The moment she turned quiet, the waiter finally arrived with their servings, and a cosy silence enveloped both of them in their dinner. It was only when they were halfway over with their dinner when Barbara decided to break the silence and change topics.
"So um… in three months the new Season will begin. You're still working with those of Pir-hana?"
Malina nodded slowly while she wiped her mouth in gentle dabs, a brief hum anticipated what she wanted to say next. "Yes, I am. We will continue to provide our services as previously. We have achieved great results overall in the past one, so I'm sure we'll continue to keep our support throughout the new one, as the three new tracks will have more of our technology on service."
Barbara remained silent for a moment, recalling the words of Jaumé about the incident in the AG-Systems quarters. However, Malina sounded so confident in that moment that she was sure that it'd never happen again. As he stated, it was just an incident, and she heard nothing about it again.
It had to be so. Even worse, that wasn't the real answer she wanted to know from her, but maybe she just asked it wrong, or she preferred to give a proper response toward one who belongs to one of the four Teams on the grid. Professional secrecy or not, she decided to shrug that off for now and smile wider, happy that she'd continue seeing her again outside the tracks.
"Great!" She cheered with a soft clap of her hands together. "Empire Climb was so fun to race on, and from yesterday's presentation, I'm sure that Subway will be even more fun with all those tight corners and cool chicanes in and out the complex. And what about Rockway Stadium! Damn, a racing track in a literal Stadium, nothing more American than that I'd bet."
Malina's chin sat over her entwined fingers as she nodded elegantly at her fresh commentary about, and her smile in return was worth all the times Barbara was waiting to see.
"Yes, the Auricom Team seems enthusiastic about that. Speaking of which, I cannot wait to see you more on track, the race weeks are going to be tiresome for all of us I bet."
"Oh yeah, but this means only more challenges to face from now on."
The Canadian woman's expression lit in delight to hear that, and it never faded even when they accompanied each other in their respective hotel rooms. In the few months they've known each other, she couldn't help but grow fond of this bright side of the Italian Pilot.
She was promising, even those of her team became aware of that, and for this she'll continue to observe and admire her under her watchful gaze.
The following weeks each Team continued to be restless in and out their headquarters. Having higher speeds to tackle with their ships and longer race weeks ahead meant that they needed to train all their Pilots accordingly, with longer training sessions and more frequent checks. As new Sponsors joined to support them and Nova State City's continuous efforts to open their arms to new tracks and more fans to welcome, the world held its breath while Socials, Zines and news dedicated to them kept their voices loud for everyone to hear, like an infinite fountain which recharges itself within its waters.
The sole person who remained like a rock against the currents was Pierre Belmondo himself.
"Chuck, I know how much we've been waiting for this moment to happen, from the success of the Nx1000 prototype to our first steps in the world with this revolutionary technology we've all made it possible, but I cannot help the fact that I feel like we're starting to strain already from our vision. The city will get more clouted, reports of structural and proprietary damages were registered all over the city's tracks, either from the simple vibrations to the disruptive weapons we allowed to use, a simple spectacularization of this sport won't help the people of Nova grow more restless in return. This isn't what I wanted when Pir-hana shook hands with the Major and allowed all this to happen without any regulation."
Hoffmann nodded slowly as he turned his chair to look up at him, tapping with one hand over the glass table in an erratic motion dissonating with the clock ticking next to him.
"So what do you think we might do now, Pierre?"
The pioneer's face gloomed for a moment as he stepped up closer to the window, admiring the night skies of Tokyo in front of him. The decision started to weigh on him the moment he began to operate behind the same group who promised greatness to the sport, and now was acting too suspicious to ignore it all. He let out a long sigh and his voice raised to be heard across his office.
"Start Project Altima."