Name this scifi story about highways of the future

November 1, 2009 3:09 PM

Looking for a short sci-fi story that I read on the internet. It was about a police force who worked in the very risky highways of the future, where rocket cars zoomed around at hundreds of miles an hour.

Other half-remembered details:

- The protagonists drove in a huge vehicle with three or four personnel, including drivers and a medic

- Traffic was heavy at one point because people were returning to Ohio from a football game in California

- it started snowing at another point in the story

- The highway was several lanes wide and contained differential speeds: 400 mph in the left tube, 300 mph in the middle, etc.


I can't even remember if it was a particularly good story, but I stumbled across it several years back and would like to read through it again. Thanks.

posted by chrisamiller to media & arts (5 comments total)

Code Three, by Rick Raphael?
posted by zamboni at 5:01 PM on November 1

Thanks - that was it!
posted by chrisamiller at 5:26 PM on November 1

If you like that, you might also read "The Roads Must Roll" by Heinlein. Sorta similar, and really good!
posted by Jinx of the 2nd Law at 9:32 PM on November 1

Yeah, very good stories by Rick Raphael -- they were originally published by John W. Campbell in "Analog" in the early 60s. Gutenberg has the original illustrations, including the color cover for the first story. A sequel was published the next year called "Once a Cop" and it seems there was even a third story. All were published in a single book called Code Three.

The highway was several lanes wide and contained differential speeds: 400 mph in the left tube, 300 mph in the middle, etc.

Don't think it was quite that fast, maybe the fast lane was 200, tops... but what I thought was neat was those different highway lanes were color-coded by the street-lights, at night.

BTW these stories have nothing in common with Heinlein's peculiar "Roads Must Roll" IMO.
posted by Rash at 10:43 AM on November 2

Also: "Along the Scenic Route" by Harlan Ellison.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:53 AM on November 2