The Coastal Relay

**Title: "Coastal Relay"**

**Setting:** Near-future coastal states (California, Oregon, Washington), where automated trucking startups vie for dominance amid lingering reliance on human drivers.

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**Part 1: The Unseen Hand**  

Elias Vance, CEO of Horizon Logistics Solutions, watched a cargo ship vanish into the fog of Seattle’s port. His company’s self-driving trucks were efficient, but adoption lagged. Traditional truckers—like Jack Mercer, a 58-year-old hauling produce from Salinas to Portland—still thrived on trust. “People fear algorithms more than human error,” Vance muttered. His solution? A shadow project, *Operation Tidepool*.  

**Part 2: The Setup**  

Over two years, Horizon’s engineers infiltrated logistics networks. Delivery manifests for truckers like Jack were subtly altered—shipment codes embedded with encrypted coordinates, delivery delays timed to sync with offshore signal bursts. Unknowingly, Jack’s rig became a data mule, ferrying stolen defense blueprints to foreign operatives.  

**Part 3: The Pattern**  

Jack noticed glitches: GPS flickering near Santa Cruz, weigh stations flagging “random” inspections. One night, he found a USB drive wedged in his cargo straps. Files detailed a Chinese satellite project. He reported it, but Homeland Security traced the drive’s origin to *his* truck. Headlines erupted: “Truckers Exploited in Spy Ring.”  

**Part 4: The Fall**  

Vance publicly denounced “fragile human supply chains.” Horizon’s stock soared as coastal states mandated automated systems for “national security.” Jack, his reputation shredded, parked his rig for the last time. At a dim diner, he overheard a Horizon engineer boast about “phase three.” He dialed a reporter, but the call dropped—a Horizon-owned satellite had already blacklisted his number.  

**Epilogue: The New Coast**  

Five years later, driverless trucks hummed along Highway 101. Vance, now a Pentagon contractor, monitored AI fleets relaying data through “secure channels.” Jack, adrift in Reno, wondered who’d notice if a Horizon truck “malfunctioned.” But the system self-corrected. Always.  

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