Leaked 2023 Acura Integra Order Guide Hints at Honda Civic Similarities

acura nsx Full OverviewProsThe most satisfying modern NSX, Engine pulls hard, Strong lateral grip.  ConsIt's dying just as it gets good, Needs a price-appropriate interior, Lacks ultimate steering feel. For decades, General Motors was notorious among its own loyalists for underfunding and underdeveloping a promising new car, expressing shock when initial sales excitement evaporated, reluctantly spending the money it should have in the first place to make the car as good as it should have been from the start, wondering why sales didn't rebound despite the tarnished reputation, then canceling the car once that it was finally good (see: Pontiac Fiero). Acura's parent company, Honda, has collaborated with GM in the past and continues to collaborate with GM today, and this is one tradition it shouldn't adopt. Case in point: the 2022 Acura NSX Type S. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Type S is what the NSX should've been from day one. The reborn NSX held such promise, and Acura engineers benchmarked the right cars. Their insistence in thinking like Honda engineers, though, and worrying about how practical their mid-engine supercar was and how it drove in Ohio winters, compromised its final form. They studied the Ferrari 458 Italia but built a car that didn't drive anywhere near as well or as viscerally.The limited-edition Type S makes great strides toward righting that wrong. It's far more engaging to drive than any NSX before it. Much of the feel and feedback missing from the standard car has finally broken through in the Type S.Test Numbers Trail Regular NSX'sUnfortunately, it seems to have come at the cost of some performance. Despite driving better than any other NSX we've tested, the Type S is also the slowest NSX we've ever tested. At 3.4 seconds to 60 mph, it's 0.4 second behind the quickest we've evaluated, and it doesn't get any better by the quarter-mile mark. To get there, the Type S needs 11.6 seconds, and it's traveling at 120.7 mph by the finish line, 0.4 second and 3.3 mph slower than the quickest one. It's not down to a bad launch, either, because the Type S is 0.2 second slower accelerating from 45 mph to 65 mph than the quickest NSX we've tested. This despite the Type S being the most powerful NSX ever at 600 hp and 492 lb-ft, 27 hp and 16 lb-ft more than any other.It's worth saying, though, that the NSX Type S experience is delightful. The engine revs very quickly and has a broad powerband thanks to the pancake electric motor mounted between the engine and transmission. It pulls hard all the way to redline, and the transmission, in Track mode, won't upshift until you've actually reached the redline, so you get every last pony. It's also happy to not upshift and let the engine wind back down if you lift off the throttle, helpful on a twisty road with short straights between tight corners. And despite all the electrification, the powertrain even manages to sound pretty good for a V-6. The engine noise is surprisingly melodious, and the turbo flutter is icing on the cake.Back to the instrumented testing results, it wasn't any better going the other way. Stopping the Type S from 60 mph required 103 feet, a massive 8 feet longer than the best one we've tested. On a mountain road, that translated to several instances of standing on the brakes and not getting the stopping power a 600-hp car ought to have. Making the experience somehow worse, the squishy, spongy brake pedal response provides no feedback. Better brakes would let this car go down the road considerably faster.There is a bright spot in the Type S' numbers, and it's shining on the handling results. Pulling 1.03 average lateral g on the skidpad ties it with the stickiest NSX, as does its 23.2-second figure-eight lap time, though the 0.89 average g it pulled on in the figure eight was 0.03 g off the leader.And you know what? We're OK with all of that. We're willing to give up a tenth here and two tenths there for a car that drives better. Still, this should've been the starting point six years ago, not the swan song.You do still have to drive it like an NSX, though. To get the most out of this powertrain, you need to treat it the way your high-performance driving instructor told you not to. Brake early, point it at the apex, and then get back on the power as soon as possible. Before the apex if you can. Normally, this delivers guaranteed understeer, but in the NSX, the front motors go to work, the nose bites, and it pulls you through the corner while accelerating hard. You can actually correct understeer by going to the power. Once you figure this out, the car becomes far more impressive than it is when driving it like a typical all-wheel-drive car.Tips For the Next One (Which Isn't Coming)Were this car to get the next generation it deserves, there are a few other components that could be further improved, as well. Body control, for one. The Type S is stiff, which is fine, but it lacks compliance. It's bouncing around way too much on bumpy pavement, making you constantly chase it with the steering or back out of throttle. It's especially bad in big brake zones where the car starts shimmying around in its lane. It's all manageable, but it shouldn't have to be managed. Tie it down, and, again, the car could go down the road noticeably faster.The steering is better than before, but it could be even better still. In this case, it's not so much holding the car back as it isn't making it better. It's very precise, but it lacks feel. Other companies have figured out how to get steering feel out of a car with electric motors powering the front axle, and Acura could, too.Then, of course, there's the interior. It was never up to snuff, and it still isn't because it hasn't changed. It looks like an Acura interior, and Acura doesn't make $200,000 interiors. A next-generation car would need a complete interior redo with much less plastic, a much more expressive design, and for the love of all that's holy, a modern infotainment system with a volume knob. You can't put Civic parts or even TLX parts in a car priced nearly on par with an entry-level Ferrari.Hopefully, Acura will get all those details right when the NSX returns as an EV in the future—as it's promised to, after a hiatus—but this still feels like a missed opportunity for the high-performance hybrid iteration of the car. The Type S proves the current NSX formula wasn't fundamentally flawed—it was just unfinished. It's a shame this car missed the mark so widely that its sales can't support a second generation of this model to finish the job. If the NSX Type S is any indication, it could've been great. Instead, Acura is pulling a GM and canceling it just as it started to get right. Everyone loses.Looks good! More details?2022 Acura NSX Type S Specifications BASE PRICE $171,495 PRICE AS TESTED $185,995 VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, 2 front and 1 rear motors, AWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback ENGINE, MOTOR Twin-turbo port- and direct-injected DOHC 24-valve 60-degree V-6, plus 3 permanent-magnet electric motors POWER (SAE NET) 520 hp @ 6,500 rpm (gas), 72 hp (comb front elec), 47 hp (rear elec); 600 hp (comb) TORQUE (SAE NET) 443 lb-ft @ 2,300 rpm (gas), 108 lb-ft (comb front elec), 109 lb-ft (rear elec); 492 lb-ft (comb) TRANSMISSIONS 1-speed auto (fr), 9-speed twin-clutch auto (rr) CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,903 lb (42/58%) WHEELBASE 103.5 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 178.5 x 76.3 x 47.8 in 0-60 MPH 3.4 sec QUARTER MILE 11.6 sec @ 120.7 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 103 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.03 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 23.2 sec @ 0.89 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 21/22/21 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 328 miles ON SALE Now Show All

genesis g90 Full OverviewWe get excited when ordinary becomes extraordinary, and that's exactly what you'll find with the 2023 Genesis G90. The Korean automaker's flagship sedan receives a complete makeover, and the new generation takes the existing G90 to a whole new level. Make no mistake, today's G90 is already a wonderful car; it impressed us so much, it won a comparison against the BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS, and Lincoln Continental.The 2023 Genesis G90 is a step in the right direction, building on the outgoing car while adding more luxury features and technology that focus on passengers' emotional state as well as on ergonomics. We spent a couple of hours with the 2023 Genesis G90 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, home of golf's Genesis Invitational, and although we didn't drive the car (we will around the middle of the year), the attention to detail inside the cabin and aimed toward passengers blew us away.How Are You Doing?When someone asks you that question, chances are your response isn't entirely honest or complete. The 2023 Genesis G90 tries to change this with a feature focused on your mood. Depending on your emotions, Mood Curator adjusts the ambient lighting and sound system while the window shades open or close automatically, and a fragrance sprays through the air vents to relax you. The massaging seats are also enabled to enhance the experience. There are four different mood modes, and you may customize each of them.If that's not impressive enough, perhaps the reclining rear seats with footrests are. The seats recline a fair amount, though not business-class flat. With the front passenger seat and seat back in their forward-most positions, the Genesis G90's reclined rear seat can accommodate adults who are up to around 5-foot-9. This scribe stands just taller than 6 feet, and my feet touched the front seat back during full recline.Your mood might also be enhanced by the 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, which positions speakers in key areas of the 2023 Genesis G90's cabin. Although the car is equipped with a ton of sound-deadening material, the system minimizes exterior noise by adjusting the in-car noise depending on the speed at which the vehicle travels.Indeed, the attention to detail is so extensive, the blind-spot monitor "beep" sounds its alarm only through the driver's headrest speakers without distracting the rest of the occupants. We didn't get to test this feature, but we were massively impressed by how much Genesis designers and engineers focused their attention on everyone traveling in the vehicle.Screens Without the OverloadScreens have become a big feature in luxury cars. Porsche, Mercedes, and even Jeep have now placed displays running from one corner of the dash to the other. Genesis, however, opted to take a different route while keeping a clean cabin design. The digital instrument cluster is flanked by a wing-like design that separates it from the infotainment display, making the cabin feel premium but without the screen overload. Buttons for the infotainment are placed under the slim air vents, and the driver or front passenger can operate the screen via touch or a rotary knob located next to the rotary shifter on the center console.Rear passengers can also control the sound system, temperature, and other features via a screen located in the rear center console. The 8.0-inch touch display found in the center armrest can also be used to adjust seat position, massage settings, curtains, and ambient lighting.Another fun feature found in the G90 sees all four doors close with the push of a button located on the center console or on the door panel.New Materials, Great QualityWhile the 2023 Genesis G90 will be available with different interior options, the one we had access to at the Riviera Country Club featured crushed carbon-fiber trim with metal inlays, which looks contemporary and elegant. It's something we haven't seen before, and we applaud Genesis for trying something new and coming up with fresh ideas. The door panels' metal inlays carried the same diamond pattern as the grille.Of course, there will be various trims available if the crushed carbon-fiber isn't your thing. The manufacturer will offer wood and other materials when the 2023 Genesis G90 arrives in U.S. dealers by the middle of 2022.Looks good! More details?

EDITOR'S NOTE: "The Holy Driver"—chapter six from the book AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu and Chen Qiufan—tells the story of Chamal, a talented and cocky young gamer from Sri Lanka who is recruited by his uncle to take part in a mysterious Chinese project. At first, the game he's been tasked with playing is like other driving simulations he's mastered, but soon it begins to dawn on Chamal that something is very different—very real—about the game's increasingly more difficult scenarios. Set roughly two decades in the future, "The Holy Driver" examines the various ethical and moral issues around artificial intelligence and autonomy that are sure to arise as the world and technology moves forward. The following is an excerpt from the chapter.JUST AS HE HAD at the VR Café, Chamal made it to the top of the training center's ranking list in no time.He was no longer the beginner who panicked at the sight of traffic and pedestrians. And it wasn't just driving for driving's sake. Chamal began receiving missions, with instructions from the technicians in the training center. The missions were always similar in terms of structure, but with variations in story line. Sometimes they were outlandish, like an alien invasion. Sometimes they were chillingly realistic, like a terrorist attack that caused roads to crumble and cars to crash into one another.Complex landscapes, erratic drivers . . . nothing could ruffle Chamal. He quickly tallied the most points among the group of gamers that Yang Juan had recruited from all over Sri Lanka. The young drivers became fast friends during their daily training. Still, his cohorts watched Chamal with jealous eyes as he swaggered out of the room each day—everyone knew that more points meant more money.Other drivers tried to pry tips and tactics out of him. Chamal tossed his hair. "I was born to drive," he said, a little too cockily.***CHAMAL HAD DISCOVERED THAT the game did not give him infinite routes. The landscapes that came up the most frequently were primarily replicas of real-life cities, spanning the Middle East to East Asia: Abu Dhabi Satellite City, Hyderabad, Bangkok, the Singaporean man-made island, the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, Shanghai Lingang, Xiong'an New Area, Chiba of Japan—places that, until now, Chamal had only read about online.One day Chamal received instructions to complete a mission on the Singaporean man-made island. A disturbance on the ocean floor in North Java had triggered a tsunami and the infrasound completely paralyzed the island's automated smart transportation system. A ten-meter tsunami would hit the island in exactly six minutes. Over a hundred dysfunctional autonomous cars and their passengers were careening down the roadway, likely to crash or, like sitting ducks, be washed away.Chamal and the other racers were instructed to seize the wheels of these vehicles, turn on manual control before more accidents could happen, and help connect the cars to the emergency network infrastructure. The network would then take over, directing the cars to the nearest evacuation zone, saving the passengers' lives.It was the most difficult and thrilling game Chamal had ever played.His virtual avatar hopped from one driver's seat to another, taking control of the wheel in mere seconds, evading fallen debris as he sped to safer ground. Jump. The procedure was simple and natural, as if it was a part of his nerve reflex. Jump again. As the blood-red countdown was rapidly approaching zero, a shimmering white line emerged in the gray-blue horizon on the periphery of Chamal's view, and it advanced toward the shore, thickening and rising every second.Chamal had no time to appreciate the sublime violence of nature, nor feel any fear. He was like a ghost that possessed those massive, sturdy bodies of steel and iron, connecting them to the network, and sending them on a path to safety. The delightful sound of coins clinking against one another rang on incessantly as his score rocketed at the top edge of the screen. The corners of his mouth twitched. He could feel the flow returning to his body.The fatal Java tsunami was closer now. Faster. Chamal wanted to earn as many points as possible before the game ended. Every millisecond that slipped through his fingers meant less tuition money for his younger siblings and less living budget for his entire family. The world—and his family—depended on the speed of his mental and physical reactions.As Chamal was about to leap into an SUV, the roaring wall of water and foam finally caught up to him. The graphics of the game were not the best; he could even see the jaggies and pixelation as the tide swallowed him whole. Before the screen went dark, he caught a last glimpse of a few cars in the near distance that were washed away instantaneously by the merciless wave. He let out a heavy, regretful sigh. Every car he didn't save meant fewer points.Game over. Chamal, now back to reality, found himself drenched in sweat. He was so exhausted that he couldn't even climb out from the cockpit. Two staff members had to carry him.Alice told him to take some time off. In the days that followed, even tasks as simple as eating with a spoon gave Chamal trouble. His hands wouldn't stop shaking. The great, ferocious tide haunted him in his dreams. That mission seemed to have deprived him of all of his energy, creating a void in his mind and body.Chamal normally had little interest in the news, but as he lay in his bedroom recovering, he overheard a report coming from the television in the kitchen, where his parents were sitting with Uncle Junius. The newscaster was talking about a tsunami that had occurred in Kanto, Japan.Slowly, Chamal got up from the bed and staggered to the kitchen. On the TV screen, he watched surveillance footage recorded during the final moments before the tsunami hit the coastal highway. Cars, as light and powerless as toy figures made from paper and clay, were overturned and devoured by the waves, disappearing into the dark water.Chamal's heart raced. The scene before his eyes was uncannily familiar. The status of the roads, the position of the cars, the scattered debris . . . it was an exact replica of the final scene in the game, which had been imprinted into his mind that day.No! That's impossible! I only played a game!"Uncle, that was only a game, wasn't it?"Junius was silent a moment. "Chamal, I want you to meet someone."***BACK AT THE TRAINING facility in the ReelX Center, Uncle Junius led Chamal through a door and down a corridor that Chamal had never seen before. At the end of the hallway, they entered an office decorated lavishly with local folk art and ornaments, resembling an absurdly large collection of holiday souvenirs."Dear Chamal, we meet at last."A woman dressed in all white stood from the sofa, bent down, and reached for Chamal's hand. Shyly, Chamal offered his own. The woman's grip was sturdy and her palm warm.She motioned for them to sit."My name is Yang Juan. You can call me Yang, or Jade. I understand they call you 'the ghost,' Chamal."Chamal blushed as Yang Juan continued speaking."I am in charge of ReelX's Sri Lanka branch. I've seen all of your game data. Without doubt, you're born to be a driver."By now Chamal's cheeks were burning."Well, your uncle told me you might have some questions. I'll do my best to answer them."Chamal bit his lip. What should I say? How can I sound respectful, polite, and dignified, like the way Mother taught me? He wanted to choose his words carefully, but he was too worn out to think straight. "The tsunami . . . it was real." Words slipped out before he could contain them. "All of this is fake," Chamal stammered."This isn't exactly a question, is it?" Yang Juan winked. "You're expecting a certain kind of answer from me. You want me to tell you that the game is either real or fake—choose one or the other, right?"Chamal's head began to spin. "Is there a third possibility?""Let me ask you first: Do you think the tsunami was real?""Of course.""Was the tsunami in the game real?""That was fake.""How about the cars?""The landscape seemed real and the course of action they took seemed real, but the cars themselves were fake.""Then, do you think you really helped save those cars and people?""I—I—" Chamal stuttered. "I don't know."Yang Juan shrugged, but her expression was sympathetic."But I know you're lying!" Chamal blurted out. "If the tsunami happened in Japan, why did you have to tell us it was Singapore? If our actions affected reality, why did you have to tell us it was a game?"Yang Juan sat silently, letting the question hang in the air. Finally, she spoke. "Before I answer, I need to ask you something first. Only answer with yes or no." Squatting, Yang Juan lowered her body to the ground, so that she could look directly into Chamal's eyes."Do you want to go to China?""What?" Chamal was taken by surprise."Remember, this is a yes or no question." Yang Juan grinned upon seeing the look of astonishment and awkwardness on the boy's face. "You are our best driver. A trip to China is the bonus reward for your work. I think you'll find the answer to your question there.""You mean driving in China?" Chamal frowned. "If that's the case, then I've been to many places in China already."It was Yang Juan's turn to be stunned. It took her a few seconds to realize that Chamal was talking about virtual reality. "I'm not trying to trick you." Yang Juan laughed. "I meant going to China for real. You will physically take a plane and go to China, breathe the air, eat the food, and test out the landscape with your own feet. Do you want to go?"Chamal lowered his eyes and contemplated. Finally, he looked up at Yang Juan, nodded his head, and gave the woman a dignified smile.***A STRONG VIBRATION WOKE Chamal from his sleep. Thinking he was still in the game, he instinctively reached for his helmet, but there was nothing on his head. He opened his eyes and squinted at the bright morning sun coming in through the porthole-shaped window. Outside were endless rows of sleek jumbo jets.The plane had arrived at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. As Chamal and his uncle walked down the jet-bridge and into the terminal, he marveled at all he was seeing. Everything here was colossal and brand-new; rays of sunlight shone through the hexagonal carve-outs on the white ceiling like a heavy meteor shower, illuminating the travelers hurrying from one destination to another.Zeng Xinlan, a talkative, cheerful young employee from ReelX's Shenzhen headquarters, picked them up at the airport. Upon meeting Chamal and Junius, she put her hands together and said "Ayubowan," greeting her Sri Lankan visitors in their native language. Junius returned the blessing and Chamal copied his uncle.They walked to the autonomous vehicle pickup zone together. Almost as soon as they arrived, a white SUV glided into the lane and came to a stop before them. Its doors swung open. Chamal climbed into the spacious back seat with Junius. The cool breeze of the car's air-conditioning relieved the stickiness from the humid outside air almost instantaneously.The car took off. Unlike the cars Chamal was used to, the engine of the SUV was nearly silent, and the acceleration was so smooth that he barely felt anything."Most of the roads and vehicles in Shenzhen support L5-level autonomous driving now. With the driver's seat no longer exclusive to the driver, not only can we fit more people into a car, but everyone can sit more comfortably as well. Minicars reserved for one or two passengers are also available." Zeng Xinlan smiled. "The smart control system decides which available car to send and calculates the optimal path to take based on the passengers' location and walking speed, to maximize airport efficiency and reduce passengers' waiting time. The road we're on right now is specifically designed to accommodate autonomous vehicles. The smart sensors installed along the road communicate in real time with the control system on every car and the traffic management infrastructure in the cloud, to ensure safety and orderliness."Chamal thought she sounded a bit robotic, as she recited this explanation.Junius pressed his face against the window. "Shenzhen looks so different from the last time I visited!" he exclaimed."You've been to Shenzhen before?" asked Chamal, surprised."Many years ago. I remember seeing a construction team working on the first of these 'smart' roads—they're everywhere now!""Typical Shenzhen development speed," Zeng Xinlan said with a grin. "Wait till you see more!"Chamal stared out the window at the foreign city, dazed. Skyscrapers extended upward as if they were infinite, their tips disappearing into the clouds. The outer walls of the buildings were made from smooth, shiny material that reflected sunlight, making them seem as if they were wrapped in cloaks of light that changed patterns and design when the sun's angle shifted. Shenzhen was pristine and orderly. He couldn't figure out how this was possible. It was as if millions of invisible puppet strings were hanging from heaven, controlling every road, every car, and every person in this enormous city, weaving them into an all-encompassing web.But who's pulling those strings?"Look!" Zeng Xinlan shouted.Chamal and Junius looked in the direction her finger was pointing. In the lanes of opposing traffic, the vehicles suddenly parted. One by one the cars glided to the sides of the highway, creating an empty lane in the middle. A faint siren grew louder as an ambulance suddenly sped through the gap in traffic. As soon as it had passed, the cars slid back into their original positions, as if nothing had happened. The entire process took mere seconds, and, apart from the siren, was nearly silent, without so much as a single honk."How is this possible?" Chamal was nearly speechless."Think about it this way. We humans don't crash into one another when we run, because our eyes observe, our brains calculate distance, and our legs adjust speed and posture. The same goes for these cars," said Zeng Xinlan with a shrug. "The sensors, camera lens, and LiDARs are its eyes; the control system is its brain. All of the above are connected to the engine and gears, the car's legs.""Chamal, imagine if this technology were available in Sri Lanka," muttered Junius. He remembered what had happened to his mother. She could've been saved from her heart attack if only the ambulance had been able to get her to the hospital in time. It was not the heart attack that killed her, but the traffic. A new message alert popped up on the dashboard, and the message was broadcast in flawless standard Mandarin through the speakers."Oh, it's the marathon," Zeng Xinlan explained.Before Chamal could press for details, their car changed direction, rerouting toward the nearest off-ramp. In fact, all the cars on the highway seemed to have received the same alert at once: Like a squadron of fighter jets changing formation, the traffic dispersed into new formations as the vehicles headed to the exits.Chamal was stunned when his gaze landed on Zeng Xinlan, who had assumed the driver's seat. The autonomous vehicles back home in Sri Lanka, despite how widely they were deployed these days, were unable to shift around with such precision without the aid of human drivers. However, Zeng Xinlan, with her hands off the wheel, was obviously not operating the car."What's happening now?" asked Chamal."Aha! It's your lucky day. You're just in time to see the upgraded city traffic system in action. The city's annual marathon will soon begin, and we're all being rerouted."Chamal stared dazedly at the traffic, trying to digest all that he was seeing and hearing. He felt immersed in a dream world.***BEFORE THEY VISITED REELX'S headquarters, Zeng Xinlan took them to a Cantonese restaurant in Qianhai.Chamal stuffed his face with the foreign yet delicious cuisine, while Junius stared fixedly out the window."What's so interesting out there?" asked Zeng Xinlan as she picked up a shrimp dumpling and put it down on Junius's plate."Even . . . even the horizon has changed," murmured Junius, bewildered."Well, land reclamation is one of Shenzhen's long-term projects. I heard the same is happening in Sri Lanka?"Every time Chamal passed by the coastal road in Colombo, he would catch a glimpse of the trailing suction hopper dredgers near the coast of Port City. Those behemoths lifted their long snouts and spat out arcs of mud and sand, which glistened like gold in the sun. All the dredgers came from China; they were helping Sri Lanka with the colossal feat of creating new land and reshaping the sea horizon."Sri Lanka, a bright pearl of the maritime silk road," Zeng Xinlan commented, mocking the tone of Chinese news broadcasters.Chamal put down his chopsticks. "Are there any cars left for humans, then?" he asked, timidly voicing the question that had been on his mind for hours."Not all cars can be switched to manual mode," said Zeng Xinlan. "We have human drivers, too, but they are limited to human-only roads and they are required to use a complementary AI device while driving. It's so much more difficult to pass the driver's license exam these days. No place for hooligans.""If that's the case, why are we needed?" Chamal turned to Junius, gazing directly into his eyes.Junius and Zeng Xinlan exchanged glances. "Of course you're important," replied Zeng Xinlan. She looked at Chamal, her face solemn. "Even the most advanced AI makes mistakes. What if an explosion destroys a road, making it impossible to follow the digital map, or there's a natural disaster that suddenly creates chaos? This is when people like you come in—a hero to save the day.""But I don't want to be a hero," Chamal blurted out. "I only want to play games, earn some points, and help out my family."Junius evaded Chamal's gaze.All of a sudden, Zeng Xinlan let out a giggle and broke the awkward silence. "Look at you two! Like uncle, like nephew. Chamal, when your uncle first joined our project, he told us the exact same thing! Am I right, Junius?"Junius, now blushing, poked at his soup with his spoon."Wait, you also . . . ?" Chamal's eyes widened."He never told you?" Zeng Xinlan shot Junius a surprised look.Chamal shook his head."I didn't want to give you the wrong impression," whispered Junius, finally finding the right words. "I know what other people say behind my back. They think I've been helping ReelX do bad things, so the Buddha decided to punish me by crippling my leg."Chamal was not a stranger to the gossip, but he had never imagined the truth."Your uncle used to be our best driver. Before he retired from the injury, he saved many lives.""So you used to be a ghost driver, just like me," Chamal repeated. "But how can ghosts get injured?""This was a decade ago, Chamal. It was an earlier version of the program, a more primitive version," Uncle Junius said. "There have always been risks, but they are smaller now.""That's why it's necessary we call the procedure a game," interjected Zeng Xinlan, her tone serious again. "The human species is far more delicate than machines. A human driver's reaction time and performance level can be affected by even the most insignificant emotional response.""So that's why Uncle lied to me, telling me that I was only there to play a game," muttered Chamal. I used to believe that Uncle would never lie to me. "Chamal," Junius said, letting out a sigh. "Let me tell you a story."***A DECADE AGO, JUNIUS was conducting a mission in the SichuanTibet region after a major earthquake. His objective was to transport emergency medical supplies to the trapped victims. The aftershocks were relentless; GPS was failing due to roads blocked by landslides. Ghost drivers were the only option. At first, Junius managed to evade danger, but after an especially powerful aftershock, debris began pouring down the mountain like a deadly rain. Struggling to dodge rocks and mud while maintaining control on the winding road, Junius failed to notice a giant boulder plunging down from his left. It landed on his car hood, smashing the car's left side into the ground.A piercing pain shot down Junius's left leg; it was the force feedback at work. He knew that his physical body was unharmed. It was synesthesia. A healthy amount of body synesthesia—simulation of real senses through virtual reality—was beneficial to virtual rescue drivers, because it stimulated cognitive capacity and produced adrenaline, enhancing their performance level. However, what constituted "a healthy amount" varied from driver to driver, mission to mission. Upon seeing the disaster-stricken Sichuan-Tibet region, Junius had deliberately pushed the synesthesia values up. So many lives depended on him; he could not bear the thought of letting them down.With his leg screaming in pain, Junius tried different ways to get the car moving again, but it wouldn't budge; the wheels would only spin uselessly. With every passing second, hope grew dimmer. He was overwhelmed with guilt and despair. I failed them. His injured leg felt numb now, as if it were no longer a part of his body.In the end, the military was able to pull drones from other sectors and send out an emergency deployment. The medical supplies reached the people in need, after all. However, ever since that day, Junius's leg had been stuck in a limbo between the real and the virtual, as if time had forgotten it, freezing it forever in that moment of pain and regret.***"IF WE THINK OF it as a game, we'll feel less pain," said Chamal, after Junius had finished talking. He could understand where Junius was coming from now, yet there was still one thing he just couldn't wrap his head around. "But why? Why do we have to endure all this?""To make a living, I guess, and save some lives along the way. It's important to invest in our karma," said Junius with a self-deprecating smile. "One day we may need saving, too."After lunch, they visited ReelX's headquarters. While they were in the lab, Chamal couldn't tear his eyes away from the newest force-feedback suit and brainwave-connected helmet displayed in the window. Zeng Xinlan, noticing the boy's widened eyes, promised him a set of tailor-made equipment—as long as he was willing to stay and complete ReelX's missions.Chamal, caressing the graphene fabric that was as light as silk yet as impenetrable as steel, silently mulled over all that he had learned that day.Indeed, Chamal felt that he'd witnessed the future in one afternoon—although he wasn't sure whether it was the same future that Junius had mentioned. The future, in his eyes, was foreign, grandiose, and immensely confusing. The autonomous cars and smart roads that he had seen on the trip were only the tip of the iceberg. Chamal used to think that technology was like Father's car, in which straightforward, countable components like bearings, gears, and cords had been assembled piece by piece, and everything was clear-cut and apparent to the eye. Now he realized that technology was more like Mother's favorite sari: The drape was delicate gossamer, embroidered with a variety of patterns, yet when Mother folded it and wrapped it around her body, the sari looked different, like layers of hazy clouds bundled together and solidified into a definite, concrete shape.BY CHEN QIUFAN, TRANSLATED BY EMILY JIN, EXCERPTED FROM AI 2041: TEN VISIONS FOR OUR FUTUREThe cover of "AI 2041: Ten Visions For Our Future" with authors Kai-Fu Lee (L) and Chen Qiufan (R).