The Mechanical Era

As the sun started to rise from the horizon, the light rays hit the sundial on top of the tram station, signaling the start of the day. A young man, wearing his cleanest attire, which consisted of an acorn-gray hemp tunic, with nettle-leaf beige pants, and a pair of old calfskin shoes, sat on a wooden bench inside of the 3rd compartment, waiting for it to start.

A few days prior, he had gone job hunting in the new 'Industrial District 1', where lots of 'factories' featuring giant, incomprehensible machines were used to do tasks a thousand men could dream of. He had negotiated a payment of 80 copper coins a month in exchange for his labor, which will be more than enough for him and his mother to survive.

The steam-powered tram had received a paint job in the last few days. It was mainly colored red, with a large white stripe circling through the entire compartment, with the windows having a thinner white outline surrounding them.

From the inside of the tram, there were 2 benches on the side, covering the entire walls except for where they got in. Above the bench, was a neat shelf to put one's belongings in, so they won't have to carry them all the way through the city.

There were a bunch more people inside, all of who have claimed the seats. The rest of them who came just now were forced to stand up. Many of them decided it would be best to sit on the benches on the platform, waiting for the conductor to arrive.

John looked outside the train, and to the sundial. Below the sundial, there were a few words inscribed on it. Words that he couldn't read, due to his lack of literacy education. Although he may be able to read some of the words, he cannot fill in the few gaps enough to make sense of them.

As John Black was looking outside, he saw a man in an acorn-gray uniform approach and entered the engine compartment. A few minutes pass by, and he can already see a bit of smoke coming out of the chimney. Soon, a bell rang, alerting everyone that the tram was about to start.

People got up from their bench seats and start packing inside the tram compartment. Soon, the empty middle space was now filled with people, all pumped up for their new jobs. A few minutes later, the bell rings again. John turns to the sundial. As soon as the ray hit the 6:30 mark, the conductor screamed.

"All aboard!" at that moment, he felt the train vibrate harder, and wobble a little. He looked down at the platform and saw that the tram was starting to move, albeit slowly.

It picked up speed the longer they went on. Soon, they reached a cool 15mph (24km/h), which was about 5 times faster than a human could walk. John occupied himself with the scenery outside. He managed to first take a glimpse of his neighborhood and town. As the tram went pass by, people on the roads waved at the passengers with smiles on their faces. To return the gratitude, like a collective mind, the passengers waved back.

Soon, the tram leaves the town and enters 'Industrial District 1'. It felt all so... surreal, being able to get from one place to another in such a short amount of time. Although the ride may be a little wobbly, with the compartment moving from side to side, the people all rather enjoyed it.

'Was this how they felt when riding their carriages?' John thinks to himself. John, due to his social status, never had been on a carriage, let alone even ridden one. Though he may not be able to prove it was what it felt like, he neither can disprove it either. To him, he felt a sense of pride in riding on this metal beast, even if it was a little intimidating.

The tram soon approached its first destination. Remembering that he had to stop at a specific station, he took out a card he received when first came to the station. The card itself featured a number, indicating the station that he needs to get off from. When he realized that the numbers match, he immediately got off the tram and headed down.

John makes his way to the smooth brick road and walked around the grid industrial sector. A lot of the buildings, inhabiting a strange liner, and sleek architecture, all had a chimney on top, meant to puff out smog into the air.

John eventually reached his destination. It was a 1 story-tall white building, with a large square gate to allow caravans to enter and exit the building as they pleased. From what he heard, it was meant to be a textile factory, where they produce fabrics of some kind.

After taking a deep breath, he headed inside the factory and looked around. The room featured giant steam engines, on all corners of the room, with pipes reaching up to the roof. Surrounding these giant engines, were smaller pieces of machinery, called 'spinning mules'.

Beside the mules, there were conveyer belts meant to transport the materials to the other room with ease. Although John did agree that they looked a little frightening, he knew that they could not harm him in any way, at least in ways that he could expect.

Other than the enormously large machines, the room was filled with people like him, all chatting around, looking at the place in amazement, shock, and a little bit of fear. Thanks to their closed conversations, the room was filled with ambient noise from a crowded area.

"Hello! Excuse me! Is there someone I can speak to?" John asked around, feeling a little lost. If he remembers correctly, he has to ask his superior to take him to his post. Soon enough, a man with short brown hair, with coca-brown eyes on his middle-aged face approached him. He was wearing a black suit approached him, holding a chipboard in his hands, and a pencil in his right ear.

"Hello there. My name is Hector Salone. I am the supervisor here. How may I help you today?" the man questions John politely. He recognize the supervisor's attire to be similar to what the 'owner' of the place had worn, reassuring him that this man had some authority.

"I came here for a job," John replied.

"You come here for a job? I am sorry, but we currently do not need any new workers as we have hired everyone we can," The supervisor answered, clearly mistaking him for someone who was looking for a job.

"Oh! No, no! I already got the job. I came here to work."

"I see. My apologies. So, will you please provide me with your name?" the man asks.

"My name is John Black, sir." Upon hearing his name, he checks the pages of the clipboard, hoping to find it there.

"John Black... John Black... Ah! There it is!" he exclaims as he points his finger at the paper.

"It says here that you applied to work as a power loom operator?" the man asks.

"Yes, sir. That is correct."

"Alright then. Please follow me." The man started to walk further into the building. They got to the end of the room, where John spots a door. The supervisor opens it and guides him to his station. This new room featured two large steam engines, surrounded by more crude machinery, this time some power looms.

"Alright. Now, you might already know this, but I am going to reiterate it to make sure that you understand. First, make sure you prepare the power loom BEFORE you start to use it.

Make sure you thread the warp through the heddles and reed, tie it to the cloth beam, and check to see if the shuttle needs to be loaded with the weft thread and if the tension needs to be set correctly. You will be receiving the cotton yarn or other materials through the conveyor belts.

Once you have made sure that you have prepared the loom, you can pull the lever over here..." Hector points at a lever near the power loom... "so that the power of the steam engine can reach the power loom.

Once the machine starts, you are to operate the loom by moving the shuttle back and forth across the loom by pulling a cord or lever. While you are operating the loom, you need to monitor the loom constantly to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

Once you are certain that the weaving is complete, you are going to have to cut the warp threads and remove the woven fabric from the cloth beam. Make sure you push the lever back up, to disconnect it from the steam engine.

Now, do you understand, Mr. John Black?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Good. Now, get to work, alright? I heard the boss will be coming down to check on the operations." With that, the supervisor left John at his station. Jack was left all alone, at his station, ready to start his work day.