Chapter 6 Technology

An excerpt from The Guardians Book 1: Formation of the Guardians

Over time, microscopes were invented, then improved and non-invasive scanners created. Greg was never happier than when he was creating and building new things for people to use. He just had a knack for seeing things which could help people and building them.

He noticed many of the kids were outgrowing their clothes and the domestic staff was having a hard time catching up. So, he dreamed one night of a sewing machine. He dreamed all the details in his sleep. As soon as he was awake, he grabbed quill, paper, and ink and jotted down everything.

When he was done, he ran down to the great hall with paper in hand. He was so excited that he couldn’t eat until he showed Lady Penelopi.

“Wow! You dreamed this up? We could use it. Perhaps it would help us to make clothes faster. Our looms do help us to create the fabric fast enough.”

“I can work on this today. I will need help testing it. I don’t actually know how to sew. I’ve watched you enough to get an idea of how to make the machine work.”

Lady Penelopi smiled. “That will be great. For now, why don’t we eat breakfast. We both have a lot to do today.”

After breakfast, Greg went back to his workroom and began building the sewing machine with the plans and the parts he had. It took him all day, but he ended up with a working sewing machine.

He ran downstairs to tell Lady Penelopi. She walked back to his workroom with her sewing bag. She sat down at the machine and they began to work.

It wasn’t easy at first. Lady Penelopi was excellent at all sorts of hand sewing, but the machine was different. She had to learn how it moved the needle. Greg had created a treadle sewing machine and she found it awkward to use.

They didn’t give up. Just before dinner, they both understood how the machine needed to work. The prototype was to be modified tomorrow. For now, they needed some dinner.

“Milady, I hope you will have time tomorrow after breakfast to test the machine again.”

“I will, Greg. It was so shocking. Everything was turned around, but then we got it. I can see how a sewing machine will allow us to make clothes faster. Perhaps we can keep up with the growing children and adolescents.”

“I hope so too. Then what will I make?”

Lady Penelopi laughed. “I’m sure you’ll come up something. You always seem to. Although usually you just help out the scientists.”

Greg nodded. “They are the ones who need gadgets more than anyone else. Maegin did prove that your method of cooking doesn’t need to be improved upon. Well, unless the safety is an issue. She did say fire was the best way to cook.”

“Yes, it can be dangerous. That’s why those who can’t prevent the fire from going out of control aren’t allowed to cook. They also tend to stay out of the kitchen.”

“A wise decision on their part. Can’t say I’m much good at cooking. I find it hard to do.”

“That’s okay. You’re great about building machines.” She smiled.

*******************

The next day, Greg and Penelopi had perfected the machine. Darius and Jazmin carried it down the stairs to the sewing and weaving room. Penelopi wasted no time in teaching some of the best hand sewers how to use it.

Soon members of the domestic staff were making more clothes faster than they could before. The sewers liked the machine so well, that they requested three more machines from Greg. He wasted no time in building them.

********************

Greg laid in his bed, but he couldn’t sleep. There was something troubling him. Sometimes people in the castle and monastery would complain about having to take cold showers. He didn’t like a cold shower all that much either.

The problem wasn’t the plumbing. They used water collectors on the roofs with a gravity fed filter to purify the water for drinking. They could take a hot bath by heating up the water, but a shower was easier for many people to get clean in.

He saw no reason to change the system of using gray water for watering plants and composting or burning their wastes. That part of the plumbing was working out well and besides, Maegin had proven the gray water and compost were all good for the food supply.

It was dark, and Greg thought about the sun. He remembered hot summer days under the sun. He blinked. The sun! Why couldn’t he harvest some of that heat to help create hot water on demand?

He got up and went to his desk. He lit a candle, grabbed paper, quill, and ink. He drew up a solar hot water heater. It held a water tank that was to bake in the sun. He knew they would have to add a water line specifically for hot water.

That shouldn’t be too hard to do. He could get help from some of the children and adolescents. There always seem to be plenty who were interested in whatever he was making or creating.

Some even had some ideas of machines of their own. He encouraged them and appreciated their help.

Yes, they would add a pipe line just for hot water. Would they want that in the kitchen? Perhaps they would. Really all they had in the kitchen for plumbing was a few sinks. Wait, they did use hot water there to wash the dishes. They would get a hot water line as well.

As soon as he finished the plans, he yawned. He set the plans aside and snuffed out the candle. Then he went back to bed and went to sleep.

The next morning, he meet the helpful workers and told them his new plan for getting hot water throughout the castle and the monastery. They got excited.

Lady Penelopi heard them. “Greg, have you found a way to get us hot water without us having to heat it up with fire?”

“Yes, Milady. We’ll be installing a hot water system today and installing hot water pipes throughout the castle and the monastery.”

“Wonderful. I hope it won’t be too hard for us to use.”

“It shouldn’t be. It’s the installation that I’m more concerned about. But I have plenty of eager workers to help out. We’ll probably be busy all day with this project.”

Darius smiled. “Wow, that is quite a project. A hot shower would be wonderful after fighting all day.”

Other people liked the idea.

Soon Greg and the young workers made pipes and the tank. They wasted no time gathering up the parts and installing them. They made quite a ruckus during the whole installation project. They took a break for lunch and then finished up before dinner.

The hot water line was hotter than the cold water line, but not by much. That was just the first day. The monks and nuns decided to wait and see if there really would be hot water at the castle before they would allow the workers into the monastery.

The next day, the water was getting hot. There wasn’t enough to go around for everyone, but it was a start. Greg and his workers expanded the system soon the whole castle could have hot water when they wanted it. Once that was established, they went to the monastery and installed another hot water system.

******************

Something was bothering Greg. He flew around the castle absentmindedly. It was getting dark as the sun was setting. There were people grumbling about the lack of light and how little candlelight helped them to get their work done.

He bumped into the fairy guards.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I’m too busy thinking.” He stood on the floor.

“No problem. At least we’re not the only fairies around here.”

“Oh, there are a few fairy children around. They can be quite helpful when I have big projects to work on, like the hot water one.”

“That was a wonderful invention. Do you know how happy people are about that?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard them. Even the monks and nuns are happy.”

“So what’s wrong now?”

“People are complaining about the lack of light. I think some are finding it’s hard on their eyes.”

The fairy guards nodded. “Well, the domestic staff do some pretty fancy embroidery work and all the sewing and weaving. They do a wonderful job on our clothes. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh, yes, they do. They have made me some pretty durable ones. I guess I’m not always good about taking care of my pants.”

“At least they understand we have wings on our backs and have come up with shirts we can wear.” She sported her top with the string ties in the back.

“Yes, or they just let us go shirtless.” Greg never bother wearing a shirt. It was too much trouble for him.

“There is that. Sometimes a little fashion is nice to have. Elves really aren’t so bad once you get to know them.”

The other guard sighed. “We need more fairies. We’ll just have to go scouting for them someday.”

“Later. For now, Greg has a problem. Perhaps we can help him find the solution.”

“Yes, we need light at night when the sun is down. How do we power those lights if they aren’t candles?”

“Hmm, not sure. You’ve stumped me.”

“Perhaps we could use the power of the sun and store it for use overnight.”

“How would you do that?”

“I don’t know yet.” Greg floated up toward the ceiling. He bumped his head against the ceiling. “Ow!”

“Careful. I didn’t know thinking could be so dangerous.”

Greg didn’t see stars, he saw blue panels on the roof of the castle. He blinked. He saw the panels attached to storage devices, a series of batteries. Then he saw wires all throughout the castle hooked up to lights hanging from the ceiling where the candles were.

“I think I’ve got it.” He flew to his room and lit a candle. He grabbed paper, quill, and ink. He quickly jotted down everything he saw and used as much detail as he could.

The fairy guards followed him and watched him furiously draw up the plans. “It’s truly amazing how he does that, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and he comes up with some great inventions. I wonder how this one will come out.”

“You know it will keep him and some of the children quite busy for about month or so.”

The fairies laughed and went outside to do their guard duty.

Greg finished up his plans and looked them over. There was something to this. He felt it had potential for more than just lights, but he could only think of lights at the moment.

He knew it was only a matter of time before other uses would become apparent. Or perhaps the children could come up with some ideas.

**********************

Greg awoke the next morning. He was ready to get to work on the solar electricity project. As he yawned he thought of the non-invasive scanners. They needed an energy source or else the scientists weren’t going to be able to use for much of anything.

He got up and reviewed his plans. He found he could add outlets and create plugs to hook into the electricity. There. Now the scanners would probably work without too much trouble. They could have rechargeable batteries as the main system would.

He took the plans down to breakfast to share with everyone.

People were interested. Many were looking forward to having lights on at night when they needed to work. Some people living in the castle just worked better after dark and slept during the day.

After breakfast, Greg and his crew got right to work. It was a long day for them. It took them much of the day just to construct the solar panels. The batteries took another day.

There were accidents. Some people, including Greg were injured. The domestic staff did what they could.

Darius noticed the work and the injuries. “Lady Penelopi, I think we need a healer in this hold.”

“Yes, we do. We don’t know enough and some of these projects Greg is doing are a bit dangerous. At least Julio, Boe, and Maegin can help figure out what went wrong and give some good ideas on how to prevent more problems.”

Darius nodded. “We all need each other. I do know of a healer. He’s also a seer as well. He can do some magic, but he is a rather ugly elf.”

Lady Penelopi laughed. “We don’t care about looks around here. His skills will be valuable. Well, his healer abilities will be. I don’t know about the magic and the seeing.”

“It’s okay, Lady Penelopi, magic isn’t an exact science as my friend would say. You can’t always rely on it when you need it.”

“I think our scientists are finding that out as well. Psi force is supposed to explain magic.”

“Yep. As I recall, the healer, Bernard, and I are from the same area. He’s probably still around there working for Lord Plaesance. That is if he’s still alive.”

“If?”

“Lord Plaesance may be handsome, but he’s hard to work for. People who disappoint him tend to end up dead.”

“Still, if Bernard is alive and his healer skills are good, we need him.”

“Alright, I’ll make arrangements to go after him. I’m sure he’d like our little community.” Darius left to find Jazmin.

Greg and his crew continued to work. Finally after about a month of work, they were able to have lights running at night for those who needed them. He had to work awhile longer to get the scanners running and also made sure the scientists could use them. There were little plug in lights he made that the children could use as night lights.

Greg was so busy he didn’t realize what was happening to him. It was something Lady Penelopi noticed right away. Her eyes were keen.

Lady Penelopi smiled at Greg. “Dear, it’s alright. It happens to all of us at some point in our lives. How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know sometimes. Sometimes I can’t even sleep at night. What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing. Your body is changing rapidly and that causes some mood swings. I bet you need another project to keep you busy.”

“I can’t think of anything more that we need.”

“I can think of something that those of us on the domestic staff would greatly appreciate.”

“Really? What do you need now?”

“We need a faster, easier way to do laundry. Doing it by hand is hard work and it takes all day. We can’t keep up with all the dirty laundry around here anymore.”

“Oh. I don’t know anything about washing clothes and bedding…”

“Then come with me after breakfast and I’ll show you how we do laundry now and explain what each step is.”

After breakfast Greg flew after Lady Penelopi. He learned everything he could about doing laundry.

“The clothesline seems to be okay for drying. Sometimes when it rains, we hang things up in the castle.”

Greg nodded. “So you need a washer so you can add the soap and get it all through the laundry and then you rinse and then you need a way to spin dry the excess water.” He floated up and down. “Well, I think I can come up with a washer. It may be a hand crank or treadle or maybe even one that runs on electricity, provided it doesn’t use much.”

Lady Penelopi nodded. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

He did. He came up with the simple hand crank washer. It was good for washing and rinsing. Then he created a hand crank spin dryer to go with it. Next, he came up with a bigger washer that required electricity. It was all one unit for wash, rinse, and spin dry.

He was requested to make several so the domestic staff could keep up with the laundry. In the end they had three electric washers and three medium sized hand crank washers and dryers.

***********************

But Greg didn’t stop there. He felt they needed some good communication equipment. Of course it could be tested between the castle and the monastery. Yes, now that would be something. A video conferencing between the two without having to go outside.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t necessary, but if there were any more outposts, they would need a way to communicate without the slow use of messengers. Granted the solar electricity did go down every now and then, but it wasn’t dire.

Communications could change everything. Greg began the plans for the communications. He also drew up designs for a small portable communications device the scouts could take with them. They could have little screens on them as well.

Greg was at it for so long that Lady Penelopi came up to his room with a tray of food.

He jumped when he saw her.

“Dear, you missed lunch and I had a feeling you were up here working on something again.”

“Oh, yes, I’m coming up with communication devices we can use with the monastery and little portable ones the scouts can take with them.”

She smiled. “Sounds good. How about something to eat?”

“Yes, I am hungry. I just lost track of the time.”

She set the tray down at the table.

He devoured all the food within a matter of minutes. “Thank you. I need to get back to work now.”

She nodded and took the tray with her. On the way back to the kitchen she saw Darius. “Darius, there you are!”

“Yes, Milady?”

“Greg is busy designing some communication devices he thinks you scouts can use when you’re out.”

“Oh? So we can communicate with you here?”

“Yes.”

“Sounds like a great idea. How far along is he?”

“He’s still planning everything. I bet he’ll talk soon. Maybe even tonight.”

“Good. I’ve been gathering information and it sounds like Bernard is still alive. I plan to leave soon with Jazmin in charge.”

“She’s as capable as you are.”

“I’m glad you agree. However, she is upset with me.”

“Oh?”

“She wants to come with me.”

“Why don’t you want her to go with you?”

“It’s not safe. Where I’m going, women are considered property and not people. The customs are so bad that if they find out Jazmin is a woman, it would be dire indeed. I tried to explain it to her, but she’s still upset.”

“I understand why you can’t allow her to go with you. It just might be hard for her to accept.”

“I hope that’s all it is.”

“Or it could be that she likes working with you and doesn’t want to be separated from you?”

“What?”

“Oh, never mind. Just get ready to go and perhaps you’ll have the communicator before you leave so you can talk to us. I bet that will help with Jazmin.”

“I hope you’re right.”

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At dinner that night, Greg came downstairs with his latest plans. He was feeling awkward, but at least he had something to do. Darius greeted him as soon as he saw him.

“Lady Penelopi says you’ve been designing communication equipment today.”

“Yes, I was hoping you’d help test the portable unit as soon as I get it ready.”

“I’d be happy to. I will have a long journey ahead of me soon.”

“Ah, then it will be tested very severely.”

“Yes.”

Greg fumbled with his papers and sat down at the table. “Was it this hard on you when you were an adolescent?”

“Yes, I felt so nervous, I sometimes dropped my weapons. It was quite embarrassing at the time.”

“Oh. Lady Penelopi tries to comfort me, but it’s still a lot to deal with at once.”

“It is. Once it’s over, you’ll be glad.”

“Really?”

“Really. I’m in my 30s now and I feel fine.”

“I’m in my 30s now.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, Lady Penelopi told me elves go through adolescence a decade earlier than we fairies do.”

“Oh, my then how old are the fairy guards?”

“We’re in our 50s! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Other people laughed.

Darius laughed. “That explains a lot. So what will these communicators look like?”

Greg showed Darius and Greg’s crew grew interested as well. “We have some of the parts in the workshop, but we will have to make more. It may be a couple of days.”

“Or maybe even tomorrow if we all go to work!”

“How about we start tonight?”

Greg smiled. “We could start tonight. I’m certainly willing.”

“Don’t stay up too late. You do need some sleep as well.”

“Oh, is Darius going to make us to go to bed tonight?”

“No, I won’t make you go to bed, but I will probably come to check up on you.”

Greg smiled. “You’re welcome to come check.”

*********************

Later that night, Greg and his crew were busy working on building the parts and the communicators. Some of the crew got sleepy and found some pillows and put them out of the way on the floor. They were fast asleep when Darius arrived.

“So, how goes it?” Darius looked around and smiled at the sleeping elves and fairies.

Greg looked up. “Well, we’re making progress.” He yawned. “Although, the assembly of the big screens will happen tomorrow.”

“Alright. Oh, is this the portable one here?”

“Yes. I hope it works for you. It probably won’t do much until I can get another together or the big screens up.”

Darius nodded. “Perhaps it’s time for bed. You all look a little tired. Goodnight and see you at breakfast.”

“Goodnight, Darius.”

********************

The next day, as soon as breakfast was over, Greg and his crew installed the big screen in the scientists’s chambers. Then they went to the monastery and installed theirs in the great hall.

Soon the testing was underway. Greg handed Darius a portable communicator and another to Jazmin. The crew turned on the big screens and there were faces on both screens.

It wasn’t perfect and sometimes it was hard to hear, especially when more than one person was talking. But the communicators were working. They just needed some tweaking here and there.

Even the two portable ones were working. Jazmin and Darius were quite happy about that. Jazmin still wanted to leave with Darius, but he told her once again he didn’t want to risk her life.

She frowned and said nothing as he packed.