Kercy Hartway glanced down at the shackles tightening around her swollen wrists.
Unable to drown out the incoherent ramblings Judge Bixby allowed from the townspeople behind her, she closed her eyes and willed herself back to two days earlier when she returned to OakMoor with the small iron boiler on the back of her father's wagon.
On that day, she smiled while unhitching the team, leaving the machine in her father's barn. A peaceful sleep ensued excited at the prospect of showing OakMoor her knowledge.
The next morning, she rose early and headed to town.
Several people frowned as she whistled while distributing flyers to OakMoor residents. "Most inappropriate for a young girl," she heard Martha Knox admonish. She dismissed the comment, but a nagging feeling persisted whether any would travel to witness the strange monster in her barn. Returning home, she waited.
To her surprise, a small crowd of curious townspeople gathered outside the barn murmuring in the dim light. Some dared to venture inside, especially the extra-curious young boys. They'd heard about the contraption reducing their workload.
Kercy fired up the prototype inside her father's barn. The air smelled of hot grease and scorching wood. She had built a scaled-down version, hooking the steam piston to a small, secondary grinding stone.
When the safety valve let out its first piercing, high-pitched hiss, they jumped back. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
"It's breathing," whispered Old Martha, crossing herself.
Then, the piston engaged. With a metallic thud, the iron arm slammed forward. The heavy wooden gears clacked, and the massive stone began to spin; faster and smoother than four grown men could ever turn it.
Kercy poured a basket of raw wheat into the hopper. Within seconds, a steady, perfect stream of fine, white flour cascaded into the collection bin.
The townspeople did not cheer. They recoiled.
Gideon stepped to the front of the crowd, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe, envy, and terror. He watched the iron rods pump up and down without a horse, an ox, or a human hand touching them. To him, motion required muscle; anything else was a conjured spirit.
"Look at it!" Gideon hissed; voice trembling as he pointed a shaking finger at the hissing boiler. "There is no wind; no water wheel in the creek; yet the stones turn. She has trapped a screaming demon in that iron box. She commands invisible spirits to turn the wheel!"
"It's just pressure!" Kercy shouted over the noise, holding up her hands, furious at Gideon. "It's just hot water!"
Taught respect for her elders, she paused, trying to think of a different approach.
But the people were already backing away into the shadows of the yard. They didn't see a miracle of physics that would save their starving children; they saw a young girl who had brought a roaring, panting mechanical monster housing an evil spirit into their peaceful valley.
Gideon blindsided her.
She woke to a handkerchief that prevented her from seeing her captives; and a set of shackles that restricted her movement.
Two days later, Kercy Hartway sat in the makeshift courtroom fighting for her life. She kept silent, not because she was guilty, but because she'd done all she knew to convince the townspeople of OakMoor. Her heart was heavy, and her thoughts shifted to her future.
I have the understanding to transform the town, but I don't have the knowledge to persuade. I'm not a solicitor with fancy words. I can't convince those who need to know with the speech to fully explain. I've failed, she lamented silently, forcing back tears.
But through the tears, she heard Master Thaddeus Ironwood of Old World. He possessed the knowledge, and he possessed the speech to convince people. If he can't convince my people, then we are both doomed.
Master Ironwood came and stood next to Kercy. He covered her shackled hand with his as reassurance. He began.
"Some of you have witnessed this machine operate before today. But you refused to believe."
He moved toward the iron contraption he and Kercy built. Adjusting his copper spectacles, he struck a flint, lighting a small coal burner beneath the iron vessel.
"People, it is not the water that does the work. It is the heat. Thermodynamics is just a fancy word for how heat moves, changes, and fights to escape." 4
He pointed a grime-covered finger at the sealed canister.
"When water boils, it turns into steam. That steam demands space; sixteen hundred times more space than the water took up. If you trap it in a thick iron box, that trapped steam builds immense pressure. It screams for an exit."
He tapped a copper pipe leading from the boiler to a heavy iron rod inside a cylinder.
"We give it only one exit. The steam rushes into this chamber and pushes against this metal block known as a piston. The invisible pressure forces the piston forward. When the valve flips, the steam vents out, and the piston falls back. Over and over. Push and pull."
Ironwood connected the piston rod to a heavy iron wheel. As the steam began to hiss, the rod shoved forward, and the wheel spun with a deafening, mechanical roar.
"Connect that spinning wheel to the central shaft of your family's mill," Ironwood said over the racket. "The fire boils the water. The water creates the pressure. The pressure pushes the piston. The piston turns the wheel. The wheel spins your heavy millstones. No children lifting rocks. No broken backs. Just wood, water, and fire doing the work of a hundred men."
He stopped, convinced that he had explained it sufficiently enough for the adults to understand.
He didn't know whether from ignorance, fear, or stubbornness, they remained quiet. Some shook their heads or scratched them in disbelief. Others whispered among themselves. A few rose from their pews and quickly headed toward the door.
But it was evidence that the people of OakMoor still wasn't convinced.
Master Ironwood glanced at Kercy and her solicitor, Jonas Krebb, then nodded. Immediately, Jonas rose and addressed Judge Bixby. "Your Honor, my client and the witness need a short break. We've been here for several hours."
Judge Bixby agreed, realizing he needed to salvage his reputation with the town and calm the growing angst against him allowing those devil's disciples to sway their town. He gaveled the courtroom out for a fifteen minute break.
[to be continued]
Source 1: Thermodynamics
Source 2: How A Steam Engine Works
For Part 3 of my short story fiction and accompanying mixed media project, I wanted to dive deeper into the period immediately after the young apprentice returned from Old World. How she attempted to demonstrate her machine to the people of OakMoore is explained.
I designed the image for this part by utilizing the stable diffusion program, StarryAI. In fact, I retrieved three different images from the prompt in order to use them for the crowd that is witnessing Kercy's barn demonstration.
Here are the details for the stable diffusion images:
Style: Cyberpunk Nouveau
Prompt: "Young female apprentice demonstrates in her barn how the steam engine works to a group of people."
For the crowd, I accomplished this by detaching the elements I required from the images' background. The final image is one of my pure fractals for the smoke.
I then utilized Canva, my design program, to blend the different type images. I began with a blank, white canvas. I then added layers of elements.
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Below are the images I included in my project.
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Shipwrecked Fire Low - Contributed to #LIL by @donroberts
I share with you my completed project:
Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I hope you like my mixed media project.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/
If translation included, I use DeepL to assist my readers.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
My heart breaks for Kercy in this chapter. I admire her because her heart is in the right place—helping to ease her community's suffering. Sadly and no thanks to Gideon who rouses fear and suspicion in the people turns what should have been a triumphant moment into a nightmare. He's testing my patience. Shouldn't he be sentenced to some medieval torture by now? 😄
Ironwood is smart to not rely only on persuasive words but also operate the prototype for the people to see. The courtroom break leaves me curious and I'm glad Judge Bixby has realised the error of his ways. Let's hope he rules in Kercy's favour and makes OakMoor see the light! Beautifully written. Take care and have a beautiful day. 🌹
Everything comes to he who waits, lolol. Gideon will get his day in court also. I think the judge is too timid to go against the grain. Hopefully, someone else will "see the light of the steam" and sense will illuminate that person.
Yes, a much needed courtroom break so the defense can regroup. I'm so pleased you liked how this segment progressed. Just one more for the finale. The research for the demonstrations is time-consuming. With the climate at the blockchain right now, it gives one pause.
Thanks so much for your visit and analysis. I appreciate it and your engagement. Take care and have a good rest of your week.
I'm happy to hear Gideon will get his day in court and hopefully move beyond his ignorant ways. Well done on the research. I can understand how time-consuming it must be given the technical details in this story. It's turning out really well and I'm looking forward to the finale.
Thanks so much for the compliment for my story thus far. If Master Ironwood and Kercy can't convince them, then it will be a sad day for OakMoor and its children for their future.
I appreciate your interest in my series. Take care.
You're welcome. And thank you so much for the hive tips. I wish you a relaxing weekend ahead.
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Thanks for your visit and view. I appreciate the community support. Take care.
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