The Mechanical Era

John Black soon walked back to his home, where he still lived with his mother, despite being 24 years old. Though, it was not because of his fault. Most of his family members, including his wife, children, and father all passed away, leaving the two of them behind alone.

"Did you ask them what they were doing?" his mother asked. She was a middle-aged woman, with wrinkles on her forehead, sitting in a relaxed position on her wooden rocking chair, a gift from her husband.

"Yes, mother. Those men are building something. Under the orders of the new king, Kant Maybale the first," John replied. The mother immediately got curious.

"The King! My my, it must be very important then. What are they building?" his mother questions him further like he questioned William.

"Something called a tram track. It is like this metal line connected to each other."

"Oh. Well, what are these rails for."

"It is for something called a tram. The man, William I think was his name, told me that it was this carriage thing that people can ride on. It is pulled by some kind of weird magical device. That is all I know."

"Ah... I see," she said, a little disappointed.

The two went on about their day. John sometimes looked outside, seeing those same men go through the hassle of constructing this weird piece of equipment throughout the entire road. As the two were having lunch together, the topic was brought up again.

"Wonder if what that guy said were true..." John had brought up. John's mother looked up from the food and looked at her son.

"I am sorry. What did you say, my child?"

"I asked the guy in charge of constructing that weird project. He told me that there might be work south. I was wondering whether I should go down there and search for work."

"How long would you have to walk?" his mother asks.

"Hm... Who knows. I might get a job nearby. I might get one from afar. Regardless mother, I can't keep on working odd jobs to get by."

"I see. What about your legs? Won't they get hurt?"

"Like my father said, a small price to pay. But who knows! That carriage thing might even work. I mean, I have heard some great things about the king. Maybe he knows what he is doing."

As they were about to finish their lunch, there was a knock on the door. John, after washing his hands in the water bowl, got up from his seat to see who it was. It was one of his neighbors. He appeared to have taken a decent walk before coming over to his door.

"Hey, John. How are you?"

"I am good. What brings you here?" John asks.

"Well, there is a crowd gathering at the end of the track. Those workers are making something big. You want to come to see?"

"...Well..."

"I would!" the mother interrupted.

"I would like to see it!"

"Well, that is great Mrs. Black! So, John. What do you say?" the neighbor asks him again. After much thought and a little bit of curiosity sparking back, John accepts his neighbor's request. He and his mother soon followed him for a few minutes, leaving the city and approaching what William called "Industrial District 1."

...

Victor, carrying a few pieces of plank wood, got on to the train with one of the workers, a retired knight. While Victor started to set everything up, the worker looked around the compartment with curiosity. He looked outside and saw a crowd gathering around.

"Mr. Victor. Are you sure that this machine will work?" asked the knight.

"Why, of course! We saw the first prototype work with no problems! Don't worry about it." Victor replied. He removed the cap and requested the worker.

"Say, can you please fill the boiler with water? We will need it, as the steam engine won't be able to run without the steam." The worker agreed. He pointed his finger into the bottleneck and muttered a spell.

"Viens eau." Soon, cold water starts pouring inside the boiler. He continued to fill it up until Victor ordered him to stop. After turning off the spell and taking out his hand, Victor closed the cap. Victor then opened the fence and threw the planks inside.

"Now what you need to do is to light these planks on fire. This will allow the water in the boiler to start to boil," Victor explained.

"And that will work? Will that start the tram?"

"Yes, although we are going to have to wait for a minute. You see, the tram only moves when the piston moves. For that to happen, we need to wait for the water to warm."

"... or I can quickly warm up the water and make it boil by itself."

"You can do that?"

"I know a spell, sir." The worker explained. Victor made a smile.

"Well, that is great! Though, I think you should heat up the bottom of the boiler. Don't do it too much, as the metal might melt. Just make sure that the thermometer won't go past this line..." Victor said as he points to the inbuilt thermometer.

"Alright, sir." Victor opens the furnace and lets the worker concentrate on heating the bottom part of the boiler. As he casts his magic, they both can hear the water start to bubble inside. After a few minutes, following the sound of the boiling water, the mechanical parts of the engine start to move.

It was slow at first, but it started to gain speed. From the outside, huge amounts of smoke can be seen leaving through the exhaust chimney of the tram. The tram starts to vibrate a little, as the engine picks up power. The tram soon starts to accelerate, at a slow pace at first. Noticeable, but slow.

As it starts to move, it wobbles a little. The worker got a little excited and started to ask questions, kind of like a little child asking a question from their parents.

"Are we moving? Are we moving?"

"Yes, we are," Victor replied. He then threw in a bunch of planks and ordered the worker to light them on fire as well. The knight obeyed and continued to concentrate on heating up the boiler. This went on for a few minutes until Victor instructed him to stop.

"Why is that, sir?" he asks.

"Because I don't want to rob you of this unique experience. Stand back up my boy." The knight, who had been kneeling all this time, soon stood up. His eyes, which were concentrated on the crude furnace, now looked upon the landscape which quickly went past by.

Almost instinctively, he looked out of the window and faced the ground. As the wind blew in his head, he saw the ground move past him.

"We are moving! We are actually moving!" he shouts out loud, all fired up by the wonder of the machine.

...

The crowd's collective jaws drop in disbelief as they see the large mechanical machine start to pick up speed. John, who had previously doubted the feasibility of such technology, was awestruck by the device. They see it start to pick up speed and leave far into the horizon.

"Did you see that John? It moved! It actually moved! How the hell were they able to do that?" his neighbor told him.

"A steam engine." John accidentally replied, causing the neighbor to give him a confused look.

"What?"

"A steam engine. It uses a steam engine to move. I talked to the guy who was making those rail things. He told me it uses a steam engine."

"What is a steam engine."

"A mechanical horse, apparently," John replied.

"Really? Damn. The things they are making. What do you think, Mrs. Black?" he asked Mrs. Black, who was just silent, utterly speechless at what she was seeing. She was a little paralyzed, a bit intimidated and frightened by the alien device. Soon the tram started to be visible again, coming back in reverse.

As it came back, John thought about what he was told by William. Apparently, there were going to be jobs in the area that the tram went to. John turned to his mother, breaking her out of her bubble of fear.

"I think it is about time I get a proper job."