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Description

"All Aboard! All Aboard!" The familiar cry and the ringing of a bell echoed through the passenger car. A few seconds latter, the doors opened and new passengers began to file in. Many of them had been returning passengers who'd stepped out on the small station for a stretch on it's hour-long stop, but there were some new faces who'd just begun their journey. Grody Tsimil was in the latter category as he clumped his way in. He let the conductor punch his ticket and following the examples of other passengers stowed his bag in the odd cabinet before taking a seat on the bench as he tried to make himself comfortable.

He was sharing a seat with another passenger, a well dressed woman with glasses about his age reading a small book. She seemed pretty into it and it seemed rude to pry, so he simply sat back. He considered finding another seat, but the car was packed. A short while latter the locomotive's whistle blared, it's bell rang, it's pistons chugged and the train began to rattle forward. Soon it cleared and he took in the landscape as it rolled by his window. Fields were being tilled and seeded, herds of cattle and sheep grazed and trees moved by. It was hard to keep track of any one thing for long, but regardless he was fixed on it.

"Quite a view." The woman seated next to him said.

"Oh yes." Gordy replied. "I've see these sights all my life, but never like this."

"I was like that on my first trip. Still impressive, even if you eventually get used to it."

"How often have you travelled by train?"

"Thirteen times, not including this trip."

"So where did you go?"

"First to Dalatyr for school, then back to Fyodirm for solstice for the last three years."

"You've lived in Dalatry?" Gordy was impressed, he'd heard stories of the city. "What's it like?"

She rolled her eyes "Full of riches and mechanical wonders, lively, busy, cramped and dirty. Some parts are better than others. I was as a clerk at Dalatyr Writing Machinery , which was fine if a bit dull at times."

"So you don't work there anymore?"

"Not anymore. There was a new posting that offered 16 credits a day. It's for a construction project called UL-144."

"Really." Gordy replied. "I was hired to work on UL-144, along with a bunch of guys from my Co-op. That's how I got my ticket."

"Not surprising. There's a bunch of guys in this car alone who are heading to UL-144, including yours' truly."

Gordy was a little surprised with this. "So how much Clerk-Work would a construction project need?"

"Plenty. Handling payroll, progress reports, requisitioning supplies, making memos. So many memos. The bigger the operation the more paper you need to keep it moving."

"Well well. My name's Gordy by the way. Gordy Fyodrim."

"Lavra. Lavra Lymirelko. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The same to you. Just out of curiosity, what were you reading."

"Tatanya Tikorov and the Azure Rose. It's about a Detective who has to catch a thief who leaves a blue flower after each robbery." For some reason, Lavra seemed enthused about the story. "It's part of a series and it's pretty good."

And so the conversation continued. While there would be some breaks, the dialogue would fill a significant chunk of the next four hours. In general both of them found the experience pleasant and by the end they'd counted each other as friends. In total there were 64 passengers in their car and 367 on the train in total, most of whom did not have as pleasant an experience as Grody or Lavra did, but all of them arrived safe and sound early in the evening near the Urblaast/Loriv Canal. Tomorrow another fully loaded passenger train would empty there, and two on the day after that. More arrived by Paddlesteamers and barges, which also brought in supplies and provisions. The Central Committee's latest project required an army of workers which were recruited, mustered and deployed with frightening efficiency.

From the Beginning...

Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Fifty Seven
Next: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Fifty Nine

Description

"All Aboard! All Aboard!" The familiar cry and the ringing of a bell echoed through the passenger car. A few seconds latter, the doors opened and new passengers began to file in. Many of them had been returning passengers who'd stepped out on the small station for a stretch on it's hour-long stop, but there were some new faces who'd just begun their journey. Grody Tsimil was in the latter category as he clumped his way in. He let the conductor punch his ticket and following the examples of other passengers stowed his bag in the odd cabinet before taking a seat on the bench as he tried to make himself comfortable.

He was sharing a seat with another passenger, a well dressed woman with glasses about his age reading a small book. She seemed pretty into it and it seemed rude to pry, so he simply sat back. He considered finding another seat, but the car was packed. A short while latter the locomotive's whistle blared, it's bell rang, it's pistons chugged and the train began to rattle forward. Soon it cleared and he took in the landscape as it rolled by his window. Fields were being tilled and seeded, herds of cattle and sheep grazed and trees moved by. It was hard to keep track of any one thing for long, but regardless he was fixed on it.

"Quite a view." The woman seated next to him said.

"Oh yes." Gordy replied. "I've see these sights all my life, but never like this."

"I was like that on my first trip. Still impressive, even if you eventually get used to it."

"How often have you travelled by train?"

"Thirteen times, not including this trip."

"So where did you go?"

"First to Dalatyr for school, then back to Fyodirm for solstice for the last three years."

"You've lived in Dalatry?" Gordy was impressed, he'd heard stories of the city. "What's it like?"

She rolled her eyes "Full of riches and mechanical wonders, lively, busy, cramped and dirty. Some parts are better than others. I was as a clerk at Dalatyr Writing Machinery , which was fine if a bit dull at times."

"So you don't work there anymore?"

"Not anymore. There was a new posting that offered 16 credits a day. It's for a construction project called UL-144."

"Really." Gordy replied. "I was hired to work on UL-144, along with a bunch of guys from my Co-op. That's how I got my ticket."

"Not surprising. There's a bunch of guys in this car alone who are heading to UL-144, including yours' truly."

Gordy was a little surprised with this. "So how much Clerk-Work would a construction project need?"

"Plenty. Handling payroll, progress reports, requisitioning supplies, making memos. So many memos. The bigger the operation the more paper you need to keep it moving."

"Well well. My name's Gordy by the way. Gordy Fyodrim."

"Lavra. Lavra Lymirelko. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The same to you. Just out of curiosity, what were you reading."

"Tatanya Tikorov and the Azure Rose. It's about a Detective who has to catch a thief who leaves a blue flower after each robbery." For some reason, Lavra seemed enthused about the story. "It's part of a series and it's pretty good."

And so the conversation continued. While there would be some breaks, the dialogue would fill a significant chunk of the next four hours. In general both of them found the experience pleasant and by the end they'd counted each other as friends. In total there were 64 passengers in their car and 367 on the train in total, most of whom did not have as pleasant an experience as Grody or Lavra did, but all of them arrived safe and sound early in the evening near the Urblaast/Loriv Canal. Tomorrow another fully loaded passenger train would empty there, and two on the day after that. More arrived by Paddlesteamers and barges, which also brought in supplies and provisions. The Central Committee's latest project required an army of workers which were recruited, mustered and deployed with frightening efficiency.

From the Beginning...

Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Fifty Seven
Next: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Fifty Nine