Full Body Inflation

When Karen was about 10, a fortune-teller at a state fair had told her that one day she would be a "big girl" and change the course of history. Right now, she would be satisfied with just paying off her student loans and getting control of her life. Like most French History majors, her career prospects were rather dim. She had been somewhat lucky, therefore, to find a relatively well-paying job cleaning house for a rich Senator's wife.

Exadyne Fuel Systems had selected the most inhospitable patch of desert available for its test facility. This served two purposes. First, they had to be sure that the new automobiles would be able to operate under extreme conditions. Second, someone would have to be both highly motivated and certifiably insane to try to spy on the test runs.