Lisa said, “Thank you, thank you so much for that wonderful welcome. And I’d like to start by saying thank you from the bottom of my heart to the people of Garrett Island for allowing us to make them part of the grandest demonstration in the history of the automobile. I appreciate that while this is a terrific opportunity for the wonderful folks on this island, I know that we also ruffled a few feathers. I’m talking to folks like you, Bill Featherstone!”

The crowd chuckled as Lisa pointed toward the back of the gym. A man in a black suit and tie who’d been leaning up against the cinder-block wall waved weakly, looking sheepish at having the focus put on him.

“In case you don’t know,” Lisa continued, “Bill owns the local Ford dealership and, like the owners of all the other car dealers in town, was none too crazy about what we wanted to do here, and I understand. We’ve tried to do right by you, and you know that your own companies have products in the pipe just like ours, so one of these days, you’re all going to have cars like these on your lots.” She grinned. “Except ours will be the best.”

Another collective chuckle.

“And I also know we may have put a slight dent in the budget of the local police department. Is the chief here?”

Sandra wanted to shout out that Joe had been called away, but kept quiet.

“Well, wherever Police Chief Joe Bridgeman is,” Lisa continued, “I want to tell him how much I and the entire Arrival corporation appreciate the sacrifice he and his department, and this town as a whole, have made. Fact is, there haven’t exactly been a lot of speeding tickets lately. No one’s been written up for running a red light or making an improper lane change for the past few weeks. So the island is going to have to find another way to make up for that lost revenue.”

More chuckles.

“But I have a feeling that’s a small price to pay for one hundred percent safety. To the best of my knowledge, there hasn’t been so much as a single parking lot door ding on Garrett Island lately.”

She took a breath.

“There have been some significant milestones in the development of the car. Way back when, someone—maybe one of your ancestors—invented a little thing called the wheel. And then, a few centuries later, a man named Henry Ford started rolling Model Ts off something called an assembly line. Well, we’re at one of those moments again.”