The turbine spun up with a deafening roar, the water rushing through the pipe and striking the cups with a hissing, clack-clack sound that made conversation impossible. Jason wore a huge smile on his face as he watched the contraption come to life. "Yes! It's working!" he shouted over the noise.

Otto, ever the blacksmith, checked the axle's bearings and wiped off some of the grease that had squeezed out. "It would appear so," he yelled back, a hint of pride in his voice.

But as the hum of the wheel continued to grow louder, a sense of unease began to settle in. The turbine seemed to be going too fast, and the others looked at each other in concern. "We're going to need to figure out how to slow it down," Jason shouted over the din. "If something goes wrong and we need to stop it, waiting for it to naturally slow isn't going to work. Especially if there’s a load attached to the other end."

Otto quickly nodded and went to push the lever closed. The sound of the water disappeared, but it was several minutes before the wheel slowed to the point that they could talk normally again.

"We need to develop a braking mechanism," Jason said, his face going back into his serious, thinking mode. "We'll need to experiment with different options, but a brake pad on the axle isn’t going to have enough leverage, and we didn’t include any part on the turbine itself for this."

As they walked back to town, the group brainstormed different ideas for slowing down the turbine.

—

Victor was excited to be on his own for the first time in years, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of adventure as he looked around the bustling town. The air was surprisingly fresh, and he couldn't help but notice the lack of the usual smoke and smell that most towns this size reeked of.

As the young man walked around the bustling town, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was in the middle of something significant. He knew that his father and the other nobles would be watching his every move, but he couldn't help but feel excited about the possibilities that lay ahead. He was determined to make the most of his time here in Unity and be a part of something truly great - though he had to make whatever it was happen fast enough for him to win the competition for the princess’s hand.

Victor continued through the town with a growing sense of wonder and excitement. He had heard stories of the innovative ideas and inventions that had sprouted from this place, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely. As he walked exited the town proper, heading up the hill, he couldn't help but notice the large concrete building that stood next to the water pipes. If the strange, small fortress wasn’t strange enough to him, the high-pitched, muffled sound emanating from the construction would have grabbed his attention. Curious, he made his way over to investigate.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

As he approached the open door, he saw a group of men gathered around a large turbine. One of them, a burly man, was shouting to be heard over the loud hum of the machine. Victor couldn't make out what he was saying, but he could see the looks of concentration on the men's faces. He made his way closer, and as he did, the man noticed him.

Victor shot him what he hoped was a questioning look. "This is the king's new turbine," the man yelled, introducing himself as Otto. "It's designed to harness the power of the water."

Victor nodded, impressed. "It's amazing," he said. He’d seen waterwheels before, but this was on a whole new level.

"It would be amazing if we could better control the speed," Otto yelled with a frustrated shrug. "We're having trouble figuring out a way to do it. We've considered using the water valve coming into the turbine to slow things down when we need to adjust the speed gradually in normal operation, but if something goes wrong with the system and we can’t stop it fast, there’s a good chance it explodes in our face. We're still trying to come up with a viable solution."

Victor's mind began to race. Perhaps this is a way to start impressing the locals, he thought, and took a closer look.

"What if you sprayed water the other way?" he asked.

“What do you mean?” Otto replied. “The cups are designed to have water come in this one direction. What would turning the turbine around do to help this?”

“Don’t turn the turbine,” the young man explained. “Just set up some more pipes over here and spray water at the back of the cups when you need to stop it fast. You’d have to turn the main water off, of course, but it would slow the thing faster than anything else i can think of at the moment.”

Otto's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant!" he exclaimed. "I never thought of that. We could use the water itself as a brake."

The group quickly set to work, and before too many hours had passed, they had set up a run of pipe and a valve pointed at the back of the turbine. One quick test later and the turbine slowed to stop within two minutes. The men let out a resounding cheer.

Otto stepped over to where Victor was observing the work. He bowed and then reached forward and grabbed Victor’s forearm. “Thank you. That took half an hour to stop the last time we tried. If anything had gotten unstable, it would have been a disaster waiting to happen, not to mention the huge amount of time it took any time we wanted to make an adjustment. As his majesty likes to tell me - a small idea can make a massive difference.”

Victor felt a sense of pride wash over him. He had never felt like he had made a real contribution before, and to have come up with a solution that even the King’s best men hadn’t figured out yet was a thrill.

He was about to speak, but Otto beat him to it. “How would you like to help me, son? Figure out more of these things that the King keeps throwing my way. Think you’re up to it?” Otto smiled as he looked the young man up and down and then dropped the wrist he had grabbed. “Milord, I mean,” he hastily added, finally noticing the finer clothing that Victor was wearing.

“I’d love that,” Victor replied, grabbing Otto’s wrist again in a friendly handshake. “And please, call me Victor.”

Back at the inn, Victor couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He was thrilled to be a part of something so important. Cassandra, I can do this, he thought. I’m off to a great start.