The Realm Wanted Something Different
Power Bomb’s engine started without anyone touching the ignition. The Metal Maniacs had seen enough strange behavior from the Racing Realms to know what that meant. Another car had been selected. Tork Maddox stood several feet away when the dashboard illuminated, and the message appearing across the screen confirmed what he already suspected: SACRIFICE RESPONSE — TEST PENDING. After Hollowback had tested his loyalty and Battle Spec had forced Kurt Wylde to confront his appetite for risk, Tork understood that whatever controlled these new Realms wasn’t interested only in racing ability. It was building psychological profiles of everyone who entered.
The portal appeared moments later. Nobody knew why Hot Wheels Power Bomb Acceleracers had been selected or exactly what the word sacrifice meant. That bothered Tork. A Racing Realm normally tested a skill. This new system seemed interested in forcing racers into situations where their personalities became part of the course. Tork ordered the other Metal Maniacs to stay back while Power Bomb’s driver prepared to enter. If the Realm wanted one vehicle, sending several might give it exactly what it wanted.
Power Bomb Acceleracers crossed through the portal and emerged onto a wide desert highway stretching toward a distant mountain range. The environment looked almost peaceful compared with the mechanical nightmare RD-06 had encountered or the world of deception built around Anthracite. There were no immediate obstacles, no attacking machines and no collapsing roadway. Power Bomb accelerated, its heavy chassis settling into the long straightaway as the speed increased.
Then the computer displayed a number.
100
A mile later, the number changed.
99
Nothing else happened.
The driver continued racing.
Several minutes later, the number dropped to 98.
Whatever the Realm was counting, Power Bomb was running out of it.
Every Mile Cost Something
The first obstacle appeared at the entrance to the mountains. A massive gate blocked the highway while two routes split around it. Power Bomb Acceleracers computer analyzed both. The left route was considerably longer but appeared safe. The right route passed directly through a field of mechanical barriers moving across the roadway. The driver selected the shorter path and accelerated through the obstacles, clipping one barrier but avoiding serious damage.
The dashboard changed.
97
The driver finally understood. Every dangerous decision was costing something, but the display didn’t identify what. Vehicle integrity remained nearly perfect. Fuel and power systems showed normal levels. Nothing measurable had decreased by three percent. Power Bomb Acceleracers continued climbing into the mountains while the number remained on the screen.
Another obstacle appeared several miles later. The roadway crossed a deep canyon using two bridges. One bridge was intact but required a long detour. The second had partially collapsed, leaving a gap that Power Bomb Acceleracers could probably jump. The driver chose the damaged bridge. Power Bomb Acceleracers launched across the opening and landed hard enough to damage part of the rear suspension.
The number dropped from 97 to 91.
This time a second message appeared.
RESOURCES ARE FINITE.
Power Bomb continued.
The Realm presented increasingly difficult choices. Every shortcut carried a cost. Taking the fastest route damaged the car. Avoiding obstacles consumed time. Using Power Bomb Acceleracers equipment to break through barriers drained energy. The driver began treating the number as a resource, choosing carefully instead of simply attacking whatever appeared ahead.
By the time Power Bomb Acceleracers reached the other side of the mountains, the display showed 63.
Then the driver saw another vehicle.
It was Rollin’ Thunder.
You Can’t Save Everything
Rollin’ Thunder sat sideways across the roadway with smoke pouring from its engine compartment. Power Bomb slowed and pulled alongside. The other Metal Maniacs vehicle looked real, but after what happened to Tork inside the Hollowback Realm, appearances meant nothing. Power Bomb’s driver attempted radio contact and received no response. Sensors detected a driver inside, apparently unconscious.
The dashboard immediately displayed a choice.
CONTINUE: RESOURCE LEVEL 63
ASSIST VEHICLE: RESOURCE COST 25
Power Bomb Acceleracers remained motionless.
The exit coordinates were still many miles away. Spending twenty-five points would leave only thirty-eight, and there was no way to know what challenges remained. The logical decision was obvious. Continue the race. Complete the objective. Report the location of the damaged vehicle afterward.
Instead, Power Bomb turned around.
The driver positioned the car against Rollin’ Thunder and activated the emergency towing system. The moment the connection locked, the display dropped to 38. Power Bomb accelerated slowly, dragging the heavier vehicle behind it.
The Realm immediately became more difficult.
The roadway narrowed. Steep climbs forced Power Bomb’s engine to work harder. Obstacles that would have been easy for one vehicle became dangerous while towing another. The number continued falling.
31.
27.
22.
The driver could disconnect Rollin’ Thunder at any moment. Every calculation suggested doing exactly that.
Then the roadway split.
One route led toward the exit.
The other led toward a repair station.
A message appeared: REPAIR SECONDARY VEHICLE — COST 15.
Power Bomb had twenty-two remaining.
The driver stared at the number.
Saving Rollin’ Thunder would leave seven.
Seven might not be enough to finish.
Power Bomb turned toward the repair station.
Sacrifice Wasn’t About Losing
The station activated automatically when both vehicles entered. Mechanical arms surrounded Rollin’ Thunder and began repairing the damaged engine. Power Bomb’s display dropped to 7. Minutes later, Rollin’ Thunder restarted. Its driver regained consciousness and established radio contact. Everything about the voice and vehicle appeared authentic, but the Power Bomb driver still couldn’t know whether the Realm had created another imitation.
The exit portal appeared six miles away.
Both vehicles accelerated.
Almost immediately, the roadway began collapsing behind them. Power Bomb pushed harder, but the damaged rear suspension made maintaining speed difficult. Rollin’ Thunder could easily outrun it. Instead, the other vehicle slowed and remained beside Power Bomb.
The dashboard displayed another choice.
TRANSFER REMAINING RESOURCE TO SECONDARY VEHICLE?
Power Bomb had only seven points left.
The driver finally understood what the Realm wanted. It wasn’t measuring whether he would destroy himself for someone else. It was measuring what he believed sacrifice meant. Giving everything away wasn’t automatically noble. Sometimes it was simply another bad decision.
Power Bomb rejected the transfer.
The number remained at seven.
Rollin’ Thunder suddenly disappeared.
The roadway beneath it remained completely empty.
There had never been another driver.
Power Bomb had spent fifty-six percent of an unknown resource saving something the Realm had manufactured specifically to manipulate him.
A message appeared.
SACRIFICE WITHOUT JUDGMENT IS WASTE.
Power Bomb Acceleracers accelerated toward the portal.
The driver wasn’t angry that he’d been tricked. Given the same information, he might have made the same decision again. The difference was that now he understood something the Realm had been trying to teach every racer differently.
A strength used without judgment eventually became a weakness.
What the Number Really Meant
Power Bomb Acceleracers reached the final stretch with the display still showing 7. The portal waited at the end of a straight roadway, but a massive barrier rose between the car and the exit. There was no alternate route. Power Bomb’s computer identified only one possibility: use the vehicle’s remaining power to smash through.
A final message appeared.
BREAK BARRIER — COST 7
The driver accelerated.
Power Bomb Acceleracers hit the barrier at full speed. The structure exploded apart as the display counted down.
6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0.
The car crossed the portal.
Power Bomb Acceleracers emerged inside the Metal Maniacs’ garage and rolled to a stop. Tork and the others rushed toward it, expecting serious damage. Instead, the vehicle was almost exactly as it had been before entering. Even the suspension damage was gone.
The mysterious number had never represented the car.
Power Bomb Acceleracers computer activated and loaded the BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE INDEX. The previous entries appeared briefly before another line was added: POWER BOMB — SACRIFICE RESPONSE — TESTED. RESOURCE JUDGMENT ADAPTATION DETECTED.
Tork read the message twice. The Realm hadn’t been measuring how much the driver was willing to sacrifice. It had been measuring whether he understood when sacrifice actually accomplished something.
Then another entry appeared.
RATIFIED — TRUST RESPONSE — PENDING.
Across the garage, Ratified’s engine started.
Tork looked toward the car and then back at Power Bomb Acceleracers.
The pattern was becoming impossible to ignore. The Realms had tested force, technology, competitiveness, autonomy, loyalty, risk, survival, deception, control and sacrifice. Each race examined something deeper than driving.
And every driver who survived taught the system more about how racers thought.
A portal began forming in front of Ratified.
This time the Metal Maniacs already knew the test.
Trust.
What they didn’t know was whether the Realm wanted Ratified’s driver to learn whom to trust—or whether it intended to make sure he never trusted anyone again.