Test Drive (Paperback or Softback)

Janice "Pegs" Pegula, a mechanic and test driver at a driverless car company in 2030 Pittsburgh, does not steal from her employer. Not necessarily. She skims-a tire here, a battery there, reselling parts from the supply room to save for a higher, drier apartment. Surge season is about to hit, bringing with it hurricane-like winds, public protests for better surge pay, and desperate modifications to driverless prototypes by companies who see the climate emergency as a final chance to prove their social purpose. Dodging delivery drones on her test drives and tech bros on her maintenance shifts, Pegs struggles to keep everyone happy-bosses and family, the mechanic buying her parts, and her expanding crew of fellow skimmers. When the group decides to acquire and strip a full driverless prototype, driving-and life-gets even more risky in this first fictional work to dramatize the existential crises faced by individuals working in the driverless car sector.