The Mechanical Era

In the wooden carriage being slowly driven by 2 majestic white horses, 4 men wearing wool suits, sat comfortably on the soft chairs of the carriage, windows open. The three of them were headed down to look around if things were going well, and to get Hugo's assessment of the factory and the work being done.

Although he supported the idea, as it would lead to lower costs, he was afraid of the quality issues the factory could face, using unskilled workers for the job. As a result, they decided to head down to the factory, to see whether his concerns were warranted.

Oswald, Jac, and Alister were in a relaxed position, reading a little book, Hugo looked outside, ecstatic by what he sees. Just a few minutes ago, he just spotted what appears to be a large red dragon, moving through the streets, at a rapid rate, spewing smoke out of its top. By this point, they were still in Lower-East Middletown and had gotten up very early to get to the industrial district.

Like a little kid, Hugo had a million questions running through his mind and wanted some serious answers. He looked around the carriage, to the other three men. Two of them, Jac and Oswald, appeared to be reading a little book, while Alister had dozed off into his own world.

"Um... Mr. Alister? Mr. Alister?" Alister immediately turned his head to face Hugo.

"Yes, Mr. Hugo?"

"What do you reckon that thing is?" Hugo pointed outside to the red steam tram zooming through.

"I think that is what his majesty refers to as a tram. It is this mechanical machine powered by a steam engine to transport people from Lower-East Middletown to Industrial District 1," Alister explains to the best of his abilities, while Hugo listened in carefully.

"Is that so? No wonder. I wonder if those things have other applications," Hugo remarked as he continue to stare at the tram car steaming away. His remark stuck with Alister, who started thinking of the various use cases other than transporting people.

Of course, the other uses were obvious, being transporting materials and such. However, the more he thought further, he had an idea. But to make sure that it could work, he looked out of the carriage and down at the roads featuring the rails, and then back to the tram.

"Say, Oswald. Can you do me a favor once we get back?" Alister asks. Oswald looks away from his book to look at Alister.

"What is it, Alister?"

"Can you arrange a meeting to meet his majesty? I think I got an idea to reduce costs of potentially every factory that surrounds this district, and maybe even the city," Alister claimed.

"I mean... sure. As long as it means we make more money."

The carriage soon stops right outside the textile factory. The men all get off the carriage and check the time. '8:15' it pointed, just a few minutes away from the first batch of materials to arrive. With the time figured out, the men walk right into the factory, where Hector the supervisor was waiting for their arrival.

"Welcome, sir! How may I help you all today?"

"We are here for the assessment. Is everything ready?" Jack questions the manager.

"Of course! You are all just in time for the production to start! We are just waiting for the first shipment." he exclaims. Hugo walks around the place, looking at all the giant crude machinery that surrounded him. He walks closer and examines each and every one of them, before coming back.

"I must say, the artisans have done a great job in making the machines. When are the materials coming?" Hugo asked Hector.

"I am glad that you like them, Mr. Hugo. As for the materials, they should be arriving in about a few minutes. Until then, we should wait outside, to allow you all to see if the work being done here meets standards," Hector said.

"Alright then, let's go," Jac said. The men walked back to the caravan stables and stood on top of the bridge. Soon enough, a few caravans enter the stable and park their carts near the platforms. The workers, all wearing hemp clothes, come over and carry the white cotton over to the conveyer belts, where they are transported inside.

They watched as they unload all the cotton inside the conveyer belts, before moving back inside. There the workers picked up the cotton and loaded it onto spools, which are then placed onto a carriage, which is a moving platform that goes back and forth. The carriage is connected to a series of rollers that stretch and twist the fibers into yarn.

On the spinning mule itself, there were a set of mechanical components that allowed the operator to control the speed and tension of the yarn as it is being spun. This meant she could make a variety of yarn if he wanted to.

Once the yarn has been spun, it is wound onto a spool, which will be placed on the conveyor belt to be sent off to the next room. Everyone in the room, even the workers, watched in awe as the cotton fibers are quickly converted into a yarn ball without breaking a sweat.

"Now, gentlemen, let me bring you over to the next room, where this yarn is turned into fabric. Follow me." The men soon followed Hector into the next room, where the power looms operated. There were more workers, taking the yarn off the belts, and putting it inside the power loom, preparing it.

Once they have completed preparing the loom, they pull the lever, allowing power to transmit through the steam engine to the loom. The machine, as if it was magic, quickly turns this yarn into fabric. Once the operator determines that it is done, he pulls the lever, cuts the fabric, and places it on the conveyer belt before continuing.

"As you can see, the production of the fabrics is extremely quick. As you can see, the workers are working very hard to make sure nothing is wrong." Hugo examined the machines and looks at how many they are producing. To his surprise, the men were able to match the abilities of a normal weaver, while working for far less.

"Now gentlemen, let us go to the final room, where the fabrics will be packaged," Hector said. The men, after sticking around, left the place to the final room. The final room had a bunch of tables, a lot of boxes, and a bunch of men working.

The men take the newly woven fabrics brought over by the belt, and fold them into a neat square before placing them inside a wooden crate. Once a crate is filled up with fabrics, the men carry them into an empty caravan, where they are shipped off.

However, they are not shipped off directly to the port or their location. Instead, they are taken to a building located downtown, where most of the literate population is consolidated. They take out any fabrics that are meant to be for Hoverdam, properly package them correctly, and then send them off.

As for the overseas requests, which is the factory's vast market, they label the crates and add in the proper quantity inside, before loading them back into the caravan, which will be headed over to the docks.

The men continued to hang around and inspect the workers and products. Hugo made sure to examine the fabrics being made. Although they have seen plenty commit a few mistakes, the operation ran rather smoothly.

"So, Mr. Hugo. What is your assessment of the place? Are we producing the fabric at the proper place or...?" Oswald asks. Hugo, after seeing through the entire process, stops and thanks.

"From what I have seen around here, those men appear to be working at the pace of a normal weaver, but the fabrics..."

"What about the fabrics?"

"They are great! This is what I would expect a weaver with a few years of experience to create. In my assessment, I strongly believe that the decision to move the factory is indeed better than the alternative."