Machinations [Eden]

[Liam Peyton Toland, Jr.]

No, no, no. That wasn't going to work.

Liam sighed, looking tiredly up from the computer screen in front of him. He'd initially gone onto the forums intending to find input for a project he was working on, but so far had received less-than-ideal results. Choosing to ignore those who obviously didn't possess the level of education he required (it was obvious when people tried to use large words they didn't quite know the meaning of), it left him with only a smattering of posts that were remotely helpful. It had started with a fairly innocent conversation with his grandfather, who had been marveling at the advances in hovercraft technology since he had been a student at the university; somehow it had snowballed into a discussion about how today's hovercraft still weren't perfect. They were wildly fuel-inefficient, they were noisy if they weren't stationary, and despite being capable of vertical takeoffs and landings were highly vulnerable while doing so.

He'd opted to focus on the propulsion, but had quickly discovered that he knew next to nothing about engineering. Which, to Liam, he'd initially regarded it to be a setback and got down to reading everything he could about hovercraft engineering; engines, weapons, cloaking, aerodynamics, whatever he could get his hands on.

Days later, he still didn't know anything about engineering.

So he had ventured out online, looking for some input; sure, there were professors he could have asked to help him with this undertaking, but many of them were already preoccupied with their own theses and research papers. Without their specific knowledge, though, there was no way he could plug the necessary math into a simulator to test his ideas. In any case, it had been a discouraging few minutes hours waiting for responses. Eventually, he'd given up on the idea of learning everything he'd need to know just by reading; he'd need a partner in this ambitious endeavor.

Liam was tentatively hopeful that, if this was successful, he could stand to make some money off of this and lighten the burden of the cost of an education. Either way, this was greatly preferable to the nightmare of socialization his parents had tried to use as a bargaining chip to cover the cost of college; he was a grown man, for god's sakes, not some blushing debutante looking to be married off.

He sighed, hitting the Refresh button for the dozenth time in the past couple of minutes; this was going to take a while.

[Death]

E  D  E  N   S  I  M  M  O  N  S


This man had vision.

I mean, obviously, if he typed on a computer for posting stuff, but then again...

Anyways, enough with double meanings. 

Eden could see this was something worth jumping on. He worked in vehicles. He was training to be an engineer. This would be an ideal project to actually break into the field. It was ideal.

He began typing, his fingers flying across the keyboard of the library computer he had borrowed.

Fuel efficiency is oftentimes about change in temperature. The hotter your engine burns, the more efficiently it will burn. Oftentimes, it can also encourage power output. You might want to consider plugging in a ceramic engine and seeing how that will work in the mix.

He hit the reply button.

Hope this helps.

[Liam Peyton Toland, Jr.]

Something came up; Liam clicked on the icon indicating a new reply, though he wasn't very hopeful about what he would find. If one more person said they "don't know, good luck lol" he was going to delete the thread and start over. Liam scrolled through the posts, chin rested heavily in his hand with disinterest.

Garbage... garbage... garbage-- hold up.

He sat up a little bit in his chair. Finally some... kind of useful information. He sighed, wondering if he hadn't mentioned in exactly enough detail how little he knew about engines and engineering and, to add now to the list, ceramics. How the hell did ceramics factor into an engine? The extent of his knowledge about ceramics was that they were popular as a material for making dishware, and when pushed knocked to the floor shattered into a million, billion little pieces.

It would help if I knew even the first thing about engines.

Liam's hands hovered over the keyboard. This was going to be an impossible undertaking on his own, and he certainly didn't have the time (or the money) to take up another major... he was going to need a minion accomplice partner.

I think I need someone to help me. Interested?

[Death]

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Eden returned from checking his email (filled to bursting with loads of junk and one from his mother, which was nice; he should go see her soon) and went back to the other page. He clicked the refresh button.

It would help if I knew even the first thing about engines.

Eden rolled his eyes. Then why is he getting involved in this kind of project, if he knows nothing about it? He wants to improve things though. Maybe it's just the learning experience. Eden could understand that.

I think I need someone to help me.

No. Way. I'd never have guessed.

Interested?

Eden's fingers flew across the keyboard and in a couple seconds, he pushed the submit button.

Hell, yes.

[Liam Peyton Toland, Jr.]

The response was immediate and enthusiastic... and Liam wasn't entirely happy about it.

I didn't think they'd respond so fast...

He hadn't even had time to consider how he'd pitch the idea to the guy-or-girl if they seemed hesitant to help him in this rather ambitious project, let alone prepare himself for having to interact with another person. It was already hard enough to admit he didn't know something and needed help while he was online; anonymous and safe. But Liam wasn't entirely sure how to handle that kind of judgment in person; whoever the poster was, however exuberant the response, probably thought he was an idiot for trying to take this on wit no understanding of engines.

Liam's hands hovered over the keys, unsure how to respond.

Tell him-slash-her where to go so you can work, idiot.

Right, that.

Just going to invite a total stranger into his workspace to work on a project that might not even bear fruit once they had tried to hash out the details... Liam withdrew his hands from the keyboard, taking the glasses out of his pocket and looking at the screen. The glasses belonged to his grandfather, Liam Sr.; he didn't actually need them, but they were like a security blanket to him. Senior was always so much more charismatic and personable than he was... with any luck maybe it would rub off on him.

Eventually.

Maybe.

Where are you?

[Death]

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Eden wandered away to grab a snack from the local coffee shop just a couple places down from the library. It was maybe fifteen minutes before he strolled back through the doors, his black coffee in hand.

His session had been claimed, so he took a seat at a new computer and hurried over the engineering forum. Maybe they'd have responded.

They had. Just three simple words.

Where are you?

Something inside of him made him want to be a smart-ass and say, "Oh, you know. District Six." But he wouldn't do that to someone he knew well, let alone a stranger who needed his help.

I'm at a library, but I live three blocks from the College. Would you like to meet somewhere to discuss particulars?

[Liam Peyton Toland, Jr.]

Where are you?

Oh shit, he wanted to meet up. Oh god, oh shit, why the hell had he decided to do this... Engineering, thermodynamics and mathematics, those were all fine, but social interaction... not so much. Especially not prolonged interaction, comparing ideas or, in this case, getting help concerning something he knew exactly nothing about.

But... this could be his college education in a nutshell.

Crap.

I'm at the college library. There are labs and stuff here if you wanna join me.

He couldn't decide whether or not he wanted this mystery poster to say yes. He drummed his fingers on the keyboard, waiting nervously for an answer.

[Death]

[googlefont="Amatic SC:400"]Eden Simmons

Nimble fingers refreshed the page, inviting the plain boxes and typing of the forum to readjust to the new information found by skimming the new surface information. It took work to see further into the internet. Time to search for things beyond a search engine. 

This was why he wasn't in real, official college and was interning instead.

The user: I'm at the college library. There are labs and stuff here if you wanna join me.

A college student. Don't they have books there? Maybe this person was like me and liked to learn from people and experience rather than from books or some old hag droning on in front of the classroom. Ripred, he hated that inefficiency. Sometimes he wished he were a computer that could just download the information he needed rather than, you know. Having to take time to learn it. The world would be a better place if people were machines and not people.

But, you know, he was an introvert. And people had some great qualities that machines couldn't. Like empathy. How could a machine empathize with other people. I mean, Eden didn't empathize much. But it happened. On occasion.

His fingers flew across the keys as he typed:

Sounds good. I'll be right over.

He stood up, logged out and proceeded out of the library and towards his home and the town square-- college.