"Take
these along," Tricia said as she tapped one of the empty crates
with the tip of an armored foot.
Another
burden for him to bear. Sigh. It was usually Mabel who bossed him
around. The tall woman was making up for her fellow Vixen's absence.
Dr
Havillund led them back out the corridor, to the first door from the
one that led to the garage. They climbed down a set of stairs into
the generator room.
"Why'd
you bring those crates here?" Tricia asked suddenly.
"Because
you told me to," George replied.
"You
could have just left them at the door to the garage since we're going
there later," Tricia pointed out.
George
sighed and placed the crates down. He surveyed the room.
Those
solar panels he had seen outside earlier were large enough to
generate power for the facility. For cloudy days and dark nights,
there was the generator and a backup battery for energy storage.
The boy
started up the generator, which he guessed ran on fuel. A nearby
stack of jerrycans, many filled with synthetic fuel, confirmed his
suspicions. Immediately, there was a knocking sound coming from
within the machine. "Something must be broken inside." He
examined the output reading and found that it was not stable.
He
stopped the generator. "I'll need my tools," he told the
others.
"Don't
forget the crates," Tricia reminded him, "Drop them in the
back."
When
George returned from the pickup with his tools, and without the
irritating crates, he found Tricia and Dr Havillund in quiet
conversation as they leaned against the wall. "So the
surrounding vegetation has grown denser," the scientist was
saying.
George
went to the generator. He detached the interface port from his
wristcom and plugged it into a slot on the side of the generator.
Then he downloaded the manual for the machine.
"Trees
are growing?" Tricia asked the scientist.
George
took out a datapad from his toolbag and linked his wristcom
wirelessly to it so he could view the manual on a larger screen.
Dr
Havillund shook his head. "It's just creepers now, and maybe the
occasional bush. But if this keeps up, the area will eventually be
covered with vegetation. Eventually, it'll be a thriving ecosystem
again."
"So
the wasteland is regenerating itself," Tricia deduced.
That
statement had George's attention. The wasteland would one day become
a giant verdant park? It would be exciting to see such an abundance
of greenery.
"That's
what I said," Dr Havillund told the Vixen excitedly, "I
estimate that we'll be able to see some real signs of reclamation in
the next century!"
Over a
hundred years!? George would definitely not be around to see that!
Losing
interest in the conversation, George concentrated on his task. With
instructions from the manual, he opened up the generator. He quickly
found the problem. "Broken piston," he announced.
"Can
it be fixed?" Dr Havillund asked him.
George
looked up from his work. "Do you have spare parts?"
Dr
Havillund shook his head.
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