Repelatron Raceway

By Louis Shalako

Brett Harden, 21 years old and Formula E World Champion, is third in the Repelatron Racing series. He also sits third on the grid at the Las Vegas Grand Prix for anti-gravity, 'repelatron' cars. The series is heating up and drawing world-wide attention from race fans everywhere. Always in the back of his mind is the love of his life, Melanie. The time for some sort of decision is looming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Louis Shalako
• Release date: Sep 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9780992102654

Louis Shalako

Louis Shalako is the founder of Long Cool One Books and the author of twenty-two novels, numerous novellas and other short stories. Louis studied Radio, Television and Journalism Arts at Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, later going on to study fine art. He began writing for community newspapers and industrial magazines over thirty years ago. His stories appear in publications including Perihelion Science Fiction, Bewildering Stories, Aurora Wolf, Ennea, Wonderwaan, Algernon, Nova Fantasia, and Danse Macabre. He lives in southern Ontario and writes full time. Louis enjoys cycling, swimming and good books.

Book preview

Repelatron Raceway

Louis Shalako

This Smashwords edition copyright 2014 Louis Shalako and Long Cool One Books

Design: J. Thornton

ISBN 978-0-9921026-5-4

Repelatron Raceway also appears in The Paranoid Cat and other tales.

The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or deceased, or to any places or events, is purely coincidental. Names, places, settings, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. The author’s moral right has been asserted.

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Table of Contents

The Formula E Grand Prix of Las Vegas

Down On the Grid

The Mood Was Somber

About the Author

Repelatron Raceway

Louis Shalako

The Formula E Grand Prix of Las Vegas

Ladies and gentlemen! Race fans! Welcome to our city’s Fourth of July weekend celebrations, and the second running of the Global Racing Federation’s Formula E Las Vegas Grand Prix!

A roar rose from the crowd, eighty-thousand strong, seated in the mile-long main grandstand fronting the pit areas. A corresponding roar came from other stands and spectators around the track. Those outside the booth were listening to the public address system and the track’s own announcer. The noise was coming in through the heavily-soundproofed walls of the media centre. The race was being broadcast all over the planet, and the broadcast feed was coming from Consolidated Network, who were also providing prime-time coverage in North America via various cable and satellite affiliates. Fred Jackson and Raoul Rodriguez sat in the broadcast booth, with their headsets on, notes, papers and laptops in front of them on the desk, gazing out at viewers all across the U.S., Canada, and in other English-speaking markets.

For those of you new to this form of racing, this is the eleventh race of the twenty-twenty-five season, and Brett Harden, the first World Champion of the new series, is third in the overall points standings behind Spaniard Porfirio Solis-Genet in second place. Brazilian Roberto Mugardo, number one driver for Panik Racing, holds top spot in the standings, and the Panik Racing team is leading in the constructor’s championship. Roberto Mugardo holds pole position for today’s race. Brett, the only American hope for this series, is twenty-one years old and sits third on the grid in the fire-engine red Harden Racing HR-Two.

Fred Jackson stopped and took a sip of water from his plastic bottle as colour commentator Raoul Rodriguez took up the story.

We were speaking with Brett Harden and his father Chris last night. After the crash he had in practice yesterday afternoon, the car looked like a total write-off. They were very confident, although Harden Racing has admitted in the past that they are down on top speed as compared to the other frontrunners. The crew worked through the night, and you can see the result. The car looks beautiful, but it is the same car, we can attest to that. So far, Fred, no one will say if their lack of top end is due to the motor system, or the aero package. Or maybe they’re just sandbagging to some degree.

Fred Jackson took the hand-off from his partner.

Well, that’s right, Raoul, and the other teams would sure like to know. The aero package is unique, and it’s free for anyone to look at. These teams scout each other just like big-league ball teams. Mind you, it is only five or ten miles per hour at the end of the long back straight. The first thing new viewers will notice is that the cars don’t have any wheels. They just float there about six inches off the ground, he noted. "The revolutionary concept here isn’t really anti-gravity in the true sense, nor is it an air-cushion like a hovercraft, which we are all no doubt familiar with. These cars operate on linear propulsion, just like one of those high-speed European bullet trains