Chitty

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This page contains Fenspace Infinities material. Fenspace Infnities material hasn't "happened" by the current timeline, though it's already been referenced in future-history or alt-history Fenspace stories and discussion. Here there be dragons of questionable canonicity, you have been warned. --The Mgt
Spacecraft Registry
Chitty
Chitty.jpg
Spacecraft Characteristics
Base HullCustom vehicle: cedar, steel, and brass body with steel "ladder frame" chassis
Length17'
Mass2 tons
Drive TypeHandwaved Ford V6 engine
Drive Rating0.1c in space
Primary ManufacturerH. Agatha Heterodyne[1]
OwnerThe Jason
FactionFenspace Convention
Registry NumberGEN 11
Primary CrewH. Agatha Heterodyne, The Jason
Operational StatusPlanned
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I stepped into Engineering, where I saw Agatha tinkering on... something. It should be a new power generator if the report she'd sent me was accurate. We'd see. It was certainly a gorgeous piece of steampunk engineering, though. As I came closer, she waved. "Hey, Kevin. Come to see how it's coming?"

I nodded. "A bit. Though I really wanted to run something past you." I grinned. "I had an idea for a new car. Well... an old car, really. I wondered if you'd want to help out?"

She looked intrigued and came down off the ladder where she'd been making adjustments on the machine, wiping her hands on a rag as she walked over. "I'm listening. What did you have in mind?"

I chuckled. "I'm not sure if you came across it when you were going through the Archive or not. Got time to watch a show? It'll give you a better idea of what I'd like to try." I grinned. "It should catch people's attention, if we can pull it off."

She nodded. "All right. Show away."

I laughed, and called up a pair of chairs, and a screen. "OK.. here we go. Have a seat." We settled back to watch the movie... Agatha laughing as the show progressed.


Agatha was making the final adjustments under the hood, as I checked over the main body of the car, giving the wood a bit of a polish with a rag. "How's it looking? Everything good to go?"

Closing the hood, she nodded. "Looks ready to go. You have the mobile emitter set up?"

I grinned. "Yep. All set for you to tag along on the test drive. I've got my suit on and ready to go, just in case this doesn't work like we're hoping, but I think it'll be OK." She nodded and got into the passenger's seat, and I climbed in the right side, behind the wheel. "Let's see how she works, then. Might be fun to head down to Australia... test out a few features down there." Agatha nodded, and I started the car, the engine immediate settling into a distinctive rhythm.

Edging out of her parking spot in Yggdrasil's landing bay, we headed towards the force screen shielding the opening to space. A button blinked on the dash, and I pushed it. Fins came out of the sides of the car, near the bumpers, and a glowing tube protruded from the rear. Lifting off, we flew out into open space... an odd feeling in an open roadster. Fortunately, the faint shimmer around the car held in the air... and there was even a breeze in our faces. No idea what was generating that, but it was a nice touch. I grinned as we flew towards the Earth, the roadster's chrome and polished wood gleaming as we came around the dark side of the planet into sunlight. The light caught the white letters on the front plate, too: GEN 11.

Quirks

User Friendly: There's no AI to speak of...at least, that's spoken back. But the car has a definite personality. Needed controls will blink to point themselves out if the user doesn't seem to know what to do, and the car can literally drive herself. There's definitely something in there, even if she doesn't talk.

ALL-Terrain Vehicle: Like the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Fenspace version doesn't let a lack of roads... or land... curtail her jaunts. She's been tested in land, air and sea modes...and has a finned 'rocket' version for space. When being tested by Agatha and the Jason in boat mode near Australia's Great Barrier Reef, a chance comment about wishing for scuba gear caused one of the dashboard buttons to blink...and a modified version of the rocket mode quickly demonstrated it was quite adept at underwater maneuvering as well. This startled more than a few divers that day, to the testers' amusement. Tests on the Moon and Mars have shown that the tires will adjust to meet the conditions there. She hasn't been tested on ice or snow yet, but they're hoping to get around to it one of these days, to see what happens.

In Space, No One Can Hear You...chitty...? The car's distinctive motor noises and backfires can be heard anywhere. Even in hard vacuum. Needless to say, this drives Fivers and new Galactica fans nuts. Anyone can hear her, though those who are modded or have more exposure to handwavium seem to hear the noises more clearly.

Notes

  1. From a design by Ken Adam, Rowland Emmett, Alan Mann and the Ford racing team