Preserving Hope (19 page)

The construction of the Wheel proved a challenge to the carpenters. They built two prototypes, in part because they weren’t sure how to transport the Wheel to the river. They wanted to roll the Wheel to the river, but the weight would likely snap the paddles off. In the end, they figured out how to build the paddles separately and attach them to the Wheel after transport to the water. That would enable the villagers to move the Wheel from the village, out to the docks, raise it onto the support beams, and only then add the paddles that would capture the energy of the flowing water and turn the Wheel. The carpenters did not attach buckets; rather, they used the prototype Will had created to observe the angles of the containers and simply carved the carrying structures directly into the side of the Wheel.

When the Wheel was completed, the entire village put aside their daily chores and worked to roll the massive structure out of the village and along the now well-worn path to the Ealdor River. They took care to ensure that the Wheel did not strike the overhead aqueducts or underlying support beams. Will, as the one who’d come up with the original design, was chosen for the honor of carrying one of the three-foot square paddles to the river. Arthur and Maynard, the village leader and his primary assistant, also carried paddles. The two men flanked Elizabeth, apparently concerned that she’d run off if they left her behind in the village during the event. Maynard, ever-mindful of his grudge against Will, glanced back at Will and sneered, tapping the hilt of his sword and glancing at the girl.

Will sighed, wondering if perhaps he should risk squeezing the man with a nano-based cocoon until his eyes popped out. Realizing that he’d have to look at the eyeless man in such a case, he decided he’d need to figure out another way to put the man in his place. He needed to do so before Maynard decided to put that sword he so loved to improper use.

Will was the only Trader given the honor of carrying a paddle, and as such was isolated from Eva and the others. He was near enough to Elizabeth, however, to both catch Maynard’s threatening glance and to notice Elizabeth taking advantage of her time closer to the trees and vegetation to build her Energy. She maintained her outwardly sickly appearance, so much so that Arthur had complained on more than one occasion that the village doctor was clearly not doing his job. Will replied that most doctors weren’t denied access to the herbs and potions needed to treat patients, for Arthur had refused to allow Will or the other Traders access to the Schola unless they paid the silver coin fee for the day. Arthur eventually decided to drop his complaints, realizing he couldn’t both complain and deny Will access to all possible supplies.

Noting that Elizabeth’s Energy was growing nicely, he projected directly to her.
You’re doing well.

This is very exciting, but I can tell that Father’s anxious. He’s concerned that if this works as promised, he’ll lose power and people will start treating you as their leader.

Will snorted, which drew odd looks from the people walking nearest him.
I have no desire to be a leader of that sort. People can follow my example if they choose; he wants them to follow because he ordered them to do so.

They reached the shore and, after looping long lengths of rope through the gaps between the spokes of the Wheel, rolled the structure into the water upriver from the dock. Several of the men wrestled the Wheel into the slot between the support beams. They tried to lift the Wheel into place, realizing only then that they’d need to get the Wheel’s axle nine or more feet above the surface of the docks. Amid much grumbling, they secured the floating Wheel to the docks, and decided what to do next. Arthur sent several glares in Will’s direction, clearly attempting to suggest that this oversight was Will’s fault, or perhaps even that Will’s plan was fatally flawed.

“It’s a Wheel,” Will finally said. “If we build ramps on both sides, we should be able to roll the Wheel up the ramps and into place.”

This suggestion was widely approved, and dozens offered to volunteer time to build the ramps, foregoing their usual chores and tasks to do so. Arthur waved his hand for silence, and when all eyes faced him, spoke. “My friends, like you, I am excited about the possibilities that the Wheel in the water will bring, and I am pleased at how we’ve all come together to work tirelessly toward achieving this goal. However, we must not forget to attend to our other duties as well. We must continue making progress toward our other goals, but more importantly, we must not fail to handle the basic tasks necessary to survive. I must ask that enough people in each of our trades remain on duty throughout this process of ramp building and Wheel mounting that we do not fall significantly behind in preparing for our next Trading mission. Or,” he added, chuckling, “that we do not starve for lack of food to eat.”

To Will’s surprise, an angry outburst greeted Arthur’s words. Many shouted at the same time, stating in various ways that the villagers were fully committed to the Wheel and would resume full production of their crafts upon the Wheel’s completion. A few even shouted that it was an insult to the idea that Will had come up with to suggest pulling people off the Wheel and back onto normal work duties. Arthur glanced at Will, and shrugged.

To his regret, Will walked to the front of the group and supported Arthur. “I agree with Arthur. We still need to eat, and we can’t forget why this community was established, and its ideals, for one new idea. I think Arthur’s plan is sound and I personally support it in full.” Sometimes, supporting a good idea was painful, simply because of who voiced it first. Will realized that, in some small way, many who followed Arthur without thought had started to see Will, a member for less than two months, as a leader of their village, just as Elizabeth had noted. In looking to Will to support his plan, Arthur had essentially forced Will to acknowledge Arthur as the true leader. Will was the leader of a specific project, but Arthur was
the
leader of the community.

Though the grumbling continued, most were reluctantly convinced by Will’s statement that Arthur’s plan was sound, despite requiring that some of them would miss portions of the actual building process. In the conversations that followed, it was decided that when it was time to load the Wheel into place, they’d make sure everyone was available to help and watch to see if the Wheel worked as promised.

Promised? Will found himself nervous at the word choice, and the possibility that something would go wrong. This was a community which had killed a woman for allegedly keeping secret a means of unlocking enhanced abilities; what would they do to him for diverting so much time and energy to this project if the Wheel did not work? Would he risk using Energy or nanos to make
sure
it worked? Or protect himself from their wrath if it didn’t?

On a late October day, the ramps were finally completed, and the villagers once again gathered on the shore of the Ealdor River to witness the raising of the Wheel. Heavy cloaks were worn by all to protect against the frigid winds blowing off the waters. Several of the men untied the ropes that held the Wheel in place, floating on the surface of the river, during the past several weeks. They tossed the ropes attached to both sides of the axle over the support beams, with several men and women pulling on each end. Others flanked the Wheel on both sides, pushing on the spokes and moving the Wheel up the ramp, a Sisyphus-like team moving the Wheel into place. Slowly, the giant Wheel rose out of the water.

Will, part of the team pushing the Wheel on the shore-side ramp, realized the problem when the Wheel was three-quarters of the way up the ramps. “Stop!” he shouted. “Stop the Wheel!”

He felt the eyes of dozens of exhausted men and women looking at him, teeth chattering against the chill. “What’s wrong, Will?” Arthur asked, his eyes expressing anger at the interruption even as his teeth chattered. “We’re nearly done. Why stop now?”

“The Wheel is in backwards. The buckets are on the
outside
. They need to be on the
inside,
on the side with the aqueduct. The Wheel won’t work the way it would be mounted now.”

A collective groan arose from the crowd, and cries of “No!” and “Are you joking?” could be heard among those on the ramp and in the crowd watching the proceedings. “Can’t the carpenters just move the buckets to the other side?” Maynard shouted from the opposite ramp, his arms shaking with the strain of holding the Wheel in place.

Joseph shook his head. “No, not without taking the Wheel back to the Shop. The buckets aren’t separate structures that can be removed; if we tried we’d damage the Wheel and it wouldn’t last more than a few months before it would crack.” He sounded worn down.

Will nodded, and sighed. “We have to take it back down to the Water and start raising it all over again, after we turn the Wheel around.”

Roars of protest sounded from those on both sides of the Wheel, arguing against the approach. Some said that the carpenters should have made the buckets more easily movable. Others blamed Will for not noticing the error sooner. Still others argued that they should finish installing the Wheel, and then determine if they could move the buckets to the other side, build separate buckets to attach to the shore side, or even extend the trough around to the opposite side. “That won’t work,” Will said, raising his voice. “The open ends of the bucket won’t be facing in the correct direction to scoop the water as the Wheel turns.”

That led to additional commentary on a poor Wheel design; the Wheel should certainly have worked regardless of which way they installed it. Will groaned. “The Wheel’s design was fine. There is no option guaranteed to succeed more quickly than to simply let the Wheel back down the ramp, turn it, and reload it. And that is how I case my vote.” Will let go of his grip on the Wheel.

A few others on both sides of the Wheel followed his example, and suddenly those protesting the effort to reload the Wheel were left holding the entire weight up on their own. “Let it go!” Will shouted. “It doesn’t matter how hard you pull on the rope if the Wheel isn’t moving in the right direction!”

In the end, the effort to hold on and fight to complete the loading of the Wheel as it was positioned was too much, and even men like Maynard were forced to let go. The Wheel rolled back down the ramp on its wide axle and settled into the water with a tremendous splash. Will felt the glares from several of the men aimed in his direction, and he wasn’t sure he needed his empathy skills to sense it. They felt they’d just wasted effort by starting over, apparently unconcerned about the potential wasted effort from continuing. The carpenters, at a minimum, would be forced to try to attach buckets to a Wheel already mounted, and that could keep them from continuing their work for several more days. And they might very well determine, after putting in that effort, that no amount of effort would get the Wheel working positioned as it had been. Worse, they might damage the Wheel and have to build another.

“I know everyone is tired, but this is the best way forward,” Will said. “Since it is midday, may I suggest that we stop for a meal, and then resume this afternoon?”

The men glowered at him. More than one made it clear that they weren’t coming back to waste their time on his crazy scheme yet again, and that included those who’d joined him a few moments earlier in releasing the ropes right away. Apparently, their gesture was done for reasons of fatigue, rather than principle.

He should have known better than to think that a community of people willing to enslave the daughter of one of their own to do their dirty work wouldn’t have the character to respond to a setback like this. Will sighed, exasperated at the lack of perseverance.

Gerald and Aldus walked up to him, and Aldus glanced over his shoulder at the retreating crowd. “I really don’t think any of them are coming back, Will. They see this setback as a failure, and proof that the idea itself was flawed. If we want this to work, it’ll have to be done with just us.”

Eva walked up to them, joined by Matilda and Eleanor. “We’ll help as well. And I agree. The rest of them aren’t coming back. It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll be happy to avail themselves of the abundant water if it works, though.” She snorted. “Reminds of their attitude around other things of value.”

Will chuckled. “In spite of that, I still want this to work. And I do have some ideas on how we can make this happen. The fact that this group — and Elizabeth — will benefit from it is enough to make me want to continue, even if we’ll have to share the benefit with the others.”

Will threaded a rope around the spokes and then tied the ends to the dock, explaining that he didn’t want to find the Wheel washed downriver when they returned, and with the Wheel secured the Traders returned to the village for their midday meal. Will was surprised at the level of anger he could sense as they worked their way to the Stores, as evidenced by the paltry amount of vegetable and pork soup ladled into his bowl and the glare directed at him as he walked away. Many of the workers made a point to complain loudly about their tired, sore muscles, and how they’d have to work extra hours to meet their desired quota for the next Trading run. Others made it clear, even to the Traders who’d previously worked with them during down time, that they were to stay away. “That’s fine,” Eva snapped. “We’d been planning to finish the Wheel project first before rejoining you anyway.” Her proclamation was met with jeers and laughter.

After all, surely three men and three women couldn’t accomplish what thirty had struggled and failed to achieve.

After eating, the Traders exited back through the gate, with more than a few residents suggesting that they stay away for an extended period of time, lest they ruin more lives with their crazy ideas. “Weren’t we heroes a few days ago for bringing back mounds of coins?” Will asked, grinning.