《The 212° Crisis》


 Chapter One - A City of Steam and Gears

    This was Alan and Mary¡¯s favorite spot, crawling up through the twisting pipes and gears to the top of the steam vent and looking out over London. They had known each other for years, Alan¡¯s dad and Mary¡¯s dad were good friends, as well as manager and employee, and despite the difference between the rather poor Mary and the middle class Alan, they still had fun together.


    ¡°Look,¡± Alan pointed to the harbor, where one could see a strange beetle-like contraption seemingly crawl out of the water. ¡°That is the new WaterBeetle automata! The world¡¯s first amphibious automata, and I hear it has nearly seven boilers to provide the power!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but can you imagine riding on the thing?¡± Mary did not seem as enthused, ¡°I imagine I would be sick in a second.¡±


    ¡°And yet you could ride that old Slepnir-A from Germany¡­¡± Alan teased, referring to a luxury horse replica automata that had been brought in to their father¡¯s plant for repair. Alan had snuck Mary in because she had begged him to let her ride it, they had been caught, and for some reason Alan was the only one punished for it! He could hardly sit down for a week afterwards and Mary had the nerve to laugh at him as he grimaced too!


    Mary blushed, ¡°That was different!¡±


    ¡°Sure it was¡­¡±


    ¡°Those are used in those new carriage automata you know!¡± Mary struggled to justify herself, ¡°They are the epitome of class!¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps the epitome of useless,¡± Alan mumbled. ¡°Have you ever seen the fuel conversion rate for those things? I cannot imagine having the money to run one!¡±


    ¡°Efficiency isn¡¯t everything!¡±


    That was true, Alan supposed. Sometimes he felt the constant march towards a more efficient design had taken all the art out of steamworks, and taken a lot of the people out of it too. He looked at his best friend and had to admit he was worried. Alan had heard rumors about new automata that replaced lineworkers in automata factories, and if that was true, many people would lose their jobs.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Oi,¡± Mary elbowed him in the ribs. ¡°Don¡¯t look so glum, you will ruin my mood.¡±


    ¡°No reason to hit me though?¡±


    ¡°Toughen up,¡± Mary laughed. ¡°You would think you would be used to it by now.¡±


    ¡°I thought you would eventually stop.¡±


    ¡°See, that is where you went wrong.¡±


    They both laughed and went to climb down the stacks to head home. They parted and went their separate ways at the same familiar street with a automata barker, well worn from years of service, selling magazines by the road.


    ¡°Is Labor in Crisis in 1793? Savery Automata may eliminate the common man!¡±


    Alan frowned, but Mary simply waved goodbye and skipped off. Honestly, she should pay more attention to the world around her. At fifteen years old, shouldn¡¯t she be more mature? Still, he was trying to wipe off the coal dust and oil so that his mother wouldn¡¯t throw a fit when he came home, so maybe he should not be talking.


    ***


    In 1698, Thomas Savery built the world''s first steam engine to pump water out of mines. But as he watched his contraption run, he started to think about possibilities and The Savery Machine Company was born. When Thomas died in 1715 the company had already begun to produce fantastic and wonderful new inventions using pressurized steam and an assortment of gears and springs. Machines that could walk, run, build, and even record sounds and speech were built! In 1730, the first of what could truly be called ¡°automata¡± was made, a boxy four legged machine called ¡°The Auroch¡± after the ancient Greek bulls. Able to work on any terrain and capable of pulling more and longer than any oxen or engine built, it took the country by storm. Over the next few decades competition between the Savery Company and the Newcomen Company drove the automata industry to new heights and now London was unrecognizable compared to the city just sixty years ago.


    A grand and glorious metropolis of steam and whirring gears and smokestacks, and Britain itself was on the ascendancy. Even with the rebellions in the American Colonies, the Empire was spreading over the globe and goods and services were pouring on to the islands.


    For those well off enough to afford it. Automation had outpaced education, and now many workers were starting to lose their jobs as they were replaced by steam and coal, for all the glory of the wealthier sections of the city, sprawling coal-dust slums were also starting to emerge.


    Truly, no one could see what the future would hold.

 Chapter Two - Bad news, Good news, and Awkward news.

    Alan accompanied his father to work that day, but he had to sit outside the office and was not allowed to listen in on the meeting. So when the announcement came, he was just as shocked as anyone else. Not really surprised though, no.


    It was not surprising when the Division Head, the manager above Alan¡¯s father, announced that the plant would be making use of the new Savery Hominis Automata and that all of the plant workers, aside from the engineers were to be laid off. However, it was a shock to the body, you can know something is probably going to happen and not want to believe it, but reality always comes crashing in.


    As the Division Head spoke Alan watched his father, the look on his face was miserable and he avoided meeting the eye¡¯s of Mary¡¯s dad. For that matter Alan was worried about Mary, there was not much work for humans in London any more, and precious little opportunity elsewhere. After the announcement, Alan¡¯s father was swamped in people who came to talk to him, generally either to beg or complain, but he could give them nothing. The orders had come from the top, and there was nothing the plant manager could do.


    It was not until later that evening, Alan having silently stood by and watched as workers began to leave with their final paycheck, that Mary¡¯s dad finally entered the office.


    ¡°Terrence¡­¡± Alan¡¯s dad looked haggard. At heart, he was a gentle person, and having to do this to the workers, especially those he had become friends with, was cutting deeply into him.


    ¡°Phillip,¡± Terrence approached the desk, obviously struggling to keep a normal look on his face and failing miserably. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t say we didn¡¯t see this coming.¡±


    ¡°I fought it as much as I could,¡± Phillip sighed. ¡°Argued that they were not as flexible as human staff, told the higher ups that we didn¡¯t have the engineers to maintain them¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, you have always been a friend to me and all the workers in the plant.¡± Terrence consoled his friend, ¡°Some of them might have been blindsided by this, but we all know you are a good person.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Alan¡¯s dad, mumbled quietly. Alan, who was still sitting silently in the corner, knew that what Terrence had said really meant a lot to his father. But that only made what would have to come next worse, he only wished there was something he could do.


    ¡°Do you remember that discussion we had?¡± Terrence broke the silence that had settled down on the conversation.


    ¡°I do,¡± Phillip nodded firmly. ¡°I may not be able to do much, but I can do that for you. Especially with the raise they threw my way to shut me up.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Alan¡¯s father was, after all, not really replaceable. A qualified steam engineer with management skills and years of experience were not exactly uncommon, but companies fought like rats in a box to hire them since the openings far exceeded the available staff.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Terrence smiled and let out a huge breath in relief. ¡°You have no idea what this means to me.¡±


    For some reason, Alan¡¯s dad looked at him and said ¡°Perhaps not, but I think I can imagine some of it, and that is enough to make me determined to do what I can.¡±


    ¡°I will have to break this to them,¡± Terrence rubbed his head in frustration. ¡°And I would like to spend one more night with her, but I will send Mary over in the morning.¡±


    Wait? What? Alan was confused, why would Mary be coming over?


    Still looking at his son, Phillip said calmly, ¡°Alan, you didn¡¯t think I would stand by and not help my best friend? For the moment, Mary will be coming to live with us.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Despite the serious situation, Alan could not help but be excited. He did not have many friends, and Mary was by far his best friend, so he could not help but be happy at being able to spend more time with her. But he tempered his feelings, if Mary was coming to live with him that could only mean that their fathers did not think Terrence would find a job easily or soon.


    Terrence laughed at his excitement, ¡°Well, there is always a silver lining, right? Must be great to be young.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t grown too old to remember, unlike you.¡± Phillip teased and laughed with his friend.


    They ended up leaving the offices smiling, despite the unpleasant day that had unfolded. On the way home, Alan realized something and became puzzled, ¡°Hey father, where will Mary be sleeping?¡±


    Though they had the income for a larger townhouse, their family had never needed one, so they only had two bedrooms. One for Alan¡¯s mother and father, and one for Alan. Alan supposed he could sleep on the couch in the parlour and let Mary have the bed, but he wasn¡¯t generous enough to do that forever!


    ¡°She will be sleeping in your room, of course.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Alan groaned. ¡°Mom won¡¯t like me sleeping on the couch, last time I put my feet on it she lectured me for half an hour.¡±


    Alan¡¯s dad looked puzzled, ¡°Why would you be sleeping on the couch? Is something wrong with your bed?¡±


    ¡°Well of course I have to sleep on the couch! Unless¡­ You mean¡­¡± Alan stammared and turned bright red.


    Phillip started to laugh, realizing what his son was thinking. ¡°We are stopping to order a mattress and frame before we head home, you will be keeping your own bed.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ She will still be in the room¡­¡± Alan¡¯s only comfort was that at the very least he could not turn any redder.


    ¡°Well, there is nowhere else to put it really,¡± Alan¡¯s father seemed amused. ¡°And to be honest, your mother and and Mary¡¯s have been busy planning your wedding for years.¡±


    ¡°Wait! What?¡± Alan shouted and tripped over his own feet, nearly falling as his dad waved it off as a joke and laughed his head off. His father loved to play jokes on people, but he had nearly stopped Alan¡¯s heart with that one!


    Alan sighed, at the very least, he had some cleaning to do before Mary arrived tomorrow.

 Chapter Three - Cheer up!

    -Mary-


    It was an odd feeling, Mary thought as she and her father walked to Alan¡¯s house.  On one hand, she was scared and worried for her family and what would happen to them, and on the other she was excited to be able to spend so much time with her best friend.  If she thought of it as a extra-length sleep over, it didn¡¯t feel so bad.  Still, her face was still red from crying earlier that morning and she wished that things could have been different.


    Alan had a nice house, Mary had always admired it when she had visited, and she also liked that Alan never commented on her¡¯s when he visited Mary.  She had lost a lot of friends because they looked down at her home, and her mother and father, with contempt.  And, although she would never admit this, Alan was something of a gentlemen.  At the door he smoothly took her bags from her and guided her to his, now their, room.


    They had even purchased a bed for her!  Sometimes, the kindness of this family overwhelmed her¡­


    ¡°Hey, everything is going to turn out fine.¡± Alan had come up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.  ¡°My father said that he could recommend your dad for a training course in Steam Mechanics.  There are plenty of jobs in that field now that automata are so common.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°That can take years¡­¡±  Mary whispered, trying not to cry.  ¡°Before that¡­¡±


    Alan put his hands on both her shoulders and turned her around to look at him, ¡°Before that we don¡¯t mind giving you a hand, Lord knows your family has done the same for us over the years.¡±


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t done anything¡­¡±  Mary mumbled, avoiding his eyes.


    ¡°My father never required your dad to stay late so many nights you know,¡± Alan said gently.  ¡°Nor did he expect your father to risk himself when that boiler was about to blow.  Your dad saved my father¡¯s life, and put in extra effort every day he worked, this is the least we can do to repay the favors.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Alan,¡± Mary hugged him tightly.  ¡°You always know what to say to cheer me up.¡±


    Alan had turned red and was stuttering and sputtering and, unbeknownst to Mary, in the middle of a crisis as he tried to figure out where to put his hands.


    ¡°Well, almost always.¡±  Mary giggled as she seperated and watched him continue to stammer, ¡°You really do need to toughen up if that knocked the wind out of you Alan.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t because¡­  I¡¯m not¡­  You just¡­¡±  Alan continued to fail at a coherent sentence and Mary laughed and smiled at the sight.  Even when he couldn¡¯t say anything, he did manage to cheer up anyways!

 Chapter Four - Remember to wear hearing protection!

    -Mary-


    She had forgotten one important fact¡­  Alan¡¯s father snored louder than a steam engine!  The clock on the wall said one in the morning, and Alan was sleeping soundly in his bed, but Mary could not sleep at all.  It was like listening to a lumberjack automata try to hack apart granite!  How on earth did Alan sleep through it?


    An hour later, nothing had changed¡­  If anyone looked in on the room they might have thought that Mary was trying to suffocate herself with her pillow.  But it had no real effect¡­  And she couldn¡¯t take it anymore!


    ¡°Alan¡­¡±  She didn¡¯t precisely whisper, but she spoke quietly.  Though if they could sleep through this snoring, Mary felt she could shout without waking anyone¡­  Alan did not stir, as she might have expected, and she ended up getting out of bed and giving him a light shake¡­


    ¡°Mary¡­?¡±  Alan spoke groggily, ¡°Wha- what time-?¡±


    ¡°Alan, there is no way I ca-¡±  Mary stopped as Alan pulled out earplugs from his ears.  He.  Was.  Wearing.  Earplugs.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Oh crap,¡± Alan said suddenly.  ¡°I forgot to get you earplugs¡­¡±


    If anyone looked in on the room now, they would think Mary was trying to suffocate Alan with her pillow.  And they would be absolutely right.  Alan had been wearing the ear protection made for factory workers after all!


    Mary made Alan get her some as well, and promised that she would get revenge for this in the morning.  When Alan grumbled that it was morning Mary chucked the pillow at his head and then made him bring it back to her, before going to sleep in blessed silence.


    -Alan-


    Alan¡¯s dad snored.  Loudly.  According to his mother, his dad had to stay awake at nights when Alan was a baby, because every time he fell asleep and snored, Alan would wake up and cry.  Alan did not blame his baby self, because he still reacted like that to this day!  So every night, he put in his earplugs, and had been for years.  He didn¡¯t even think about it anymore.


    So when Mary shook him awake he was confused as to why she was awake until he took out his earplugs and heard his dad snoring.  Between Mary trying to kill him and pummeling him with a pillow, he got earplugs for her as well.  Honestly, he deserved it, and trying to argue otherwise would just make it worse with her.  With any luck, she will get tired and fall asleep...

 Chapter Five - Shopping and Crowds

    -Alan-


    Alan never liked going shopping, the crowds sometimes felt like they were pressing down on him and he had trouble breathing.  He could do it, he just hated it.  Which made him wonder how on earth Mary had dragged him along here.  Mary had insisted on helping out where she could and decided to help his mother by going shopping for her today.


    Which was all well and good, except that Alan had not realized that when Mary said she was going somewhere, she meant Alan and her were going somewhere!


    It also meant Alan had to carry everything, which was probably her intention from the start.


    ¡°I have never understood how you can be so good in a small group but so terrible in dealing with a crowd.¡±  Mary was saying as she pulled on Alan¡¯s arm.  He had trouble answering partially because of the pressure of the crowd and partially because she pressed against him whenever they had to slip through a small gap in that crowd!This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Whenever I am dealing with a group I generally have what I need to say and know prepared,¡± Alex tried to take a few deep, calming breaths as they entered the grocery.  ¡°It is like a steam engine, everything is in place and can be understood and prepared for.  There is nothing I can do about a crowd¡­¡±


    ¡°Well I will just keep forcing you along with me until you get used to it.¡±  Mary said cheerily as she looked at the list Alan¡¯s mother gave her.  Alan was wondering if Mary just enjoyed tormenting him, and it must have shown on his face because Mary gave him a mock pout.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t make your best friend deal with this all alone would you?¡±


    Alan sighed and ignored the question, ¡°those tomatoes are my mother¡¯s favorite.¡±  He pointed to the bin containing that particularly variety.


    Throughout the day, Mary was quite friendly with all the various shopkeepers and stall owners.  To Alan¡¯s surprise, they even seemed to know her by name!


    ¡°Ah, yeah, I would help my mother shop a lot too.¡±  Mary replied as she waved goodbye to the breadbaker.  ¡°Honestly, I am glad to have company, even if you are mostly quiet today.¡±


    She poked Alan in the ribs and nearly dropped the packages he was carrying.  Alan¡¯s half hearted growl only caused her to laugh at him all the way home.

 Chapter Six - Getting hit for little reason

    -Alan-


    ¡°So Alan,¡± Blake, one of Alan¡¯s friends, had a sly look on his face.  ¡°You and Mary are in the same room huh?  Take a peek yet?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±  Alan nearly choked on the sandwich in his hand, and started coughing.  Mary was visiting her family and Alan had decided to spend time with some of his other friends.  He now felt that this was a mistake.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Alan finally managed to speak, his face red from a mixture of choking and embarrassment.  ¡°I would never do that!¡±


    ¡°Sure you wouldn¡¯t,¡± Blake laughed.  ¡°I¡¯d put money down that you thought about it!¡±


    He had, but Alan would never actually do it and he certainly wouldn¡¯t tell Blake that!  He needed to change the subject.


    ¡°How are things going with your father these days?¡±  Alan asked.  Blake¡¯s father was a food vendor, but he was not poor.  The sandwich Alan was eating was from him and it was delicious, between the price and the taste Blake¡¯s father would sell out nearly every day.  He probably made more money than Alan¡¯s father did- except Blake had a dark look on his face when Alan asked.


    ¡°Not so well,¡± Alan muttered.  ¡°No one has money to spend these days, too many people out of a job.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Of course, his father sold mostly to factory workers- who were mostly out of a job right now.


    ¡°I am sorry to hear that,¡± Alan said seriously.  ¡°Hopefully things will turn around soon.¡±


    ¡°I certainly hope so,¡± Blake suddenly smirked.  ¡°Going to have to buy you two a wedding gift after all.¡±


    Blake laughed and managed to dodge Alan¡¯s half hearted swipe.  He parted ways with Blake not too long after, heading to a certain street and sitting against a wall to wait.  An hour later than expected, Mary appeared, looking downcast.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Alan called out, startling Mary at first, but she smiled when she saw him.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Mary then raised an eyebrow.  ¡°You haven¡¯t been waiting here long have you?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± Alan lied.  ¡°Honestly I thought I had missed you and you were already at home, but since I haven¡¯t would you mind so company?¡±


    Alan joined Mary walking back towards his home, now hers as well.  Suddenly, she grabbed his hand causing Alan to blush.


    ¡°Wh- what are you doing?¡±  He stammered, but Mary only scowled at him, tightened her grip and started hitting him!


    ¡°You hands are cold you liar!¡±  Mary had the total advantage so long as she kept a hold of him, and Alan had no choice but to try and shield himself from her hitting him.  ¡°You were waiting for me and I am going to keep hitting you until I decide if it was creepy or sweet.¡±


    ¡°God help me,¡± Alan moaned before she hit him again for good measure.