novel - Short story where non automated cars are outlawed, and the protagonist sees classic cars being raced illegally.

I believe this was part of a short story, or a novella. Automated transportation is the current technology. Vehicles must be automated and human control has been outlawed for safeties sake.

The protagonist observes the scene as he is flying from point A to Point B:

There is a stretch of concrete road, maintained by an underground group of outlawed car enthusiasts, and they are in the midst of (recklessly) racing these automobiles against other human drivers despite the dangers and in defiance of the law.

It is a brief scene, and has little to do with the overall story, so I'm having a difficult time recalling just which book it was a part of.

Likely read it in the 1980's.

Answer

I think this might be a scene from Flatlander published 1964 by Larry Niven, which was published in the Beowulf Shaefer compilation Crashlander published in 1994. At one point, Beowulf's friend Elephant takes him to see and join in where crazy rich guys race lovingly restored vintage automobiles on a stretch of highway. Beowulf is initially bored (he's a starship captain and these cars go nowhere near the speed of sound, let alone light) until he realizes that the cars are so old that they don't even have on board radar and becomes absolutely terrified.

It's a scene really not at all important to the story, but fun nonetheless.

Comments

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...

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aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

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