literature

Through an Engineer's Eyes

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Literature Text

Through an Engineer's Eyes

Stepping from my workshop, I answer the door; a customer has coming to pick up his vehicle.  Holographic displays pop up on our wrists and money is transferred before I open the door and let him take it.  I spent several hours on it between my own projects, but he won't thank me.  He waves and leaves, telling me to have a good day.  I sigh slightly and look out the door of my garage, the building across the framed in the doorway.  The neon sign hanging from it reads, "Sex Sex Sex!" in fuchsia letters on a black background.  Gold light spills from the large windows on either side of the door, filthy words are painted on the glass.

Taking a breath, I rub the bridge of my nose, perhaps I should take walk… I close the garage door and lock it, locking the side door as well, turning off my "Open" sign.  The ruby-red letters and sapphire-blue boarder go dark, leaving my shop empty.  The large neon sign hanging over the garage door of my shop disgusts me.  I hate neon signs… "Leura's" it reads; I do not own the building, not yet anyway.  I am Leura Miller, an engineer who trained herself to build and fix many things; my business is mainly fixing things.  I've loved to fix things since I was little and my father taught me how to do it.  First I'd just fix my toys when they broke, but then I started working on things for my parents, mom's car, dad's computer, if it was broken, I could fix it in no time.

Outside my shop, the sky is beginning to darken, but it is illuminated by neon lights; those ugly signs from before Thera was even created.  I hate the light they cast, to my eyes it flickers constantly and the hum they produce irritates me.  Other people claim to be unable to see the flickering, but I know it is there and that is enough for me.  Continuing down the street I pass several men, they are doing something in an alleyway, but it is none of my business, nothing I do in this city seems to be noticed by anyone, at least when I am not working.  I work for EldroTech, the largest business in all of Thera.  I am a remote worker.

EldroTech, the creators of nearly everything in Thera; they own the upper three levels and their influence comes down as far as level five.  Rumours say they are responsible for creating The Core, but I do not think that is possible.  The Core is what gives Thera life, what powers the magnificent machines that move on her surface, and what gives me my powers.  I can generate electricity at will; I use it to power the gadgets I create.  Sometimes they are weapons, other times they are things like my heavy truck.  I built it with moving Sentinels in mind, both Adestrea and Selena have ridden in it and Lilith commented that she would like to ride in it sometime.

The Sentinels are like robots, but they are sentient, they are outwardly extremely human in appearance, but under that, they are machines to the core.  I can fix them sometimes, usually just emergency repairs until they are able to make their way to EldroTech's head engineer, Alyssa.  She is the daughter of the CEO and the PR Representative and builds Sentinels.  Well… more like gives birth to them.  They are extremely human and when they are newly constructed, they are like an infant or perhaps a child.  I was entrusted with one my first day working for EldroTech.  Her name is Selena.  Currently, she is back at my shop, I am not sure what she is doing though.  If she needs help, I am sure she will contact me.

Perhaps I should go back now; Selena tends to get into trouble when I am not around.  Turning back is not a difficult task, simply retracing my steps but I will leave my shop closed for the night.  Often, those who want my services are shady or want me to make an illegal modification to their vehicle.  I do not condone such things, I will fix it if it is broken, but I will not install illegal things.  Down the street there is a scuffle between two men with a ring of people surrounding them.  They are probably drunks fighting for no reason.  I glance up and down the street before crossing it, walking down the side opposite from my original path.

One of the hookers from the strip club across the street from my shop invites me to work with her, but I ignore her and cross to my shop.  Why do women take their clothes off for money?  Would it not be easier to find honest work?  Pondering this, I unlock the door of my shop and step inside, locking it behind me.  I hate this city sometimes, but that thought it pushed from my mind as a young woman with blond hair rushes toward me, explaining excitedly that she has completed a task I gave her.  I reach up and pat her on the head, telling her she did a good job.  Selena is easy to please, her mind is still childish.  Part of me worries about what will happen when she learns the ugly truth behind Thera… but that will not happen any time soon.

I pause at the door of my workshop, looking into the garage, which is largely empty.  I wonder... when will my next project arrive?
As I've been working on :iconazranielle:'s world a lot with her and spending a lot of time just chatting with her, I decided to write something similar to her story, The Core and I think it came out very well.

A little about Leura Miller:
She's a brilliant, though quiet engineer. She spends a lot of time alone in her shop but doesn't see it as odd. Leura works as a mechanic when she's not working on her own projects and loves to build things.
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