As it turned out, the two of them had come much later than normal. While people weren't in the lower numbers that Troy had witnessed at lunch, the amount was gradually decreasing. While the food was not normally taken away, it soon would be, with most having gotten their needed fill.
Sitting one their usual benches were the regular duo of Charlie and Darlow. The latter had not been at lunch, for some inexplicable reason. Not that Troy cared too much about that severely important detail, feeling a greater need to get himself some food.
Today's dinner had the prison equivalent of mashed potatoes, black gravy, and some meat to the side. Not the most complicated of things to get, but, oh, how his mouth watered at the sight of the delicacy before him. How long had it been, since he had eaten such things? A month? Or, would it be more likely to call it a year.
Troy had not been able to buy any meat, before getting the current job, due to the expenses with it. Eating cheap vitamin pills, and even cheaper ready-made dishes had caused his standards of good food, sure. But, no man, woman, or person could ever deny the greatness before him.
Grabbing a cup of water along the way, Troy got himself seated at the usual placement. Charlie and Darlow were on the opposite side, while Dr Hale would soon seat herself beside him. Or, well, on the same side as him. Not as near to him, as those two before him were. Honestly, if they waved those forks around much more, Troy would be witness to a gravy fight. He had only seen one such occurrence before, and it had been on more favourable terms.
Dr Hale was not long delayed before she was seated as well. Within the same second, when she reached a comfortable position, Charlie had taken his hand inside his jacket and thrown out a very recognizable object. It landed softly, in the middle of the table, hinting at just how light the thing was.
“What?” Dr Hale simply asked, her tone revealing just how tired she was of what she saw before her. Even her eyes narrowed themselves, her jaw tightened, and one eyebrow had gotten one good twitch in before everything sat back in place. Something told Troy, that this wasn't the first time, something like this had to happen
With those gears sticking outwards, constantly moving, he would've thought the thing much heavier. While he had really lifted it, nearly everything on it looked to be made of metal. And, while he had also never lifted any pure metal, those things were supposed to be pretty damn heavy. The fact that it hardly made any sound, just hinted at other factors being in play.
Charlie was seemingly expecting Dr Hale’s reaction, his head tilting in her direction, with practised ease. A coy smile found itself upon his lips, a more than slight hint at the expected output.
“I haven't even begun, dearest doctor!”, Charlie said, putting a special emphasis on just how special she was. Darlow had unconsciously put on a little more focus when the word was used. But it was thrown off, just as quickly. Nicknames were not easy when multiple people were both dear’s and doctors. If Troy’s estimations were not entirely wrong, a good seventy-five per cent had such a prominent title. “There is no reason to be with such a negative outlook. Just think! What could the good and young genius have created now? Do you not want to know, of the many secrets, which had been trapped inside my mind before, unveiled in physical form, for the masses to see?”
“Not particularly, no”, Dr Hale surmised, in a few words. The words couldn't have been too new to hear, in such a form, but they still hit the formerly young doctor hard. A mock hit was made to the chest, not being close, to forcing Charlie back onto his seat.
Troy really did like these moments. The dynamics of their little seating showed itself prominently, during the break-hours. Charlie would try engaging the group with a new concept, or an alternate definition of an older thing, and try to get positive reactions from it. Then, Dr Hale would come along, and shatter any semblance of positivity from the mortal realm, before eating her food, as nothing happened.
This would set the giver of ideas some initial set-backs before it would come back again in full force. And, if Troy had not been too much, in his own head, the next scene would be beginning any second-
“How? How can you not want to enjoy the idea of gathering more knowledge about the world! This thing could be a time machine, for all you know about it, and you're removing any chances of ever getting to know the details of it.
If you just inquired into it, even just a smidge, the possibilities of what you learn would greatly be improved just by being it itself. And, if you don't like the initial pitch, of what this thing is, nobody will be blaming you, for not being interested. It is only through instant rebuttal, that we get such thoughts sewed into our minds,” Charlie said, the words flying out of his mouth, directly into the mildly irritated face of Dr Hale. Then again, that was the standard expression, for that woman, so Troy didn't really need to pay attention to such detail.
It was hard not to, though. The slight lowering of her eyebrows, as she tried to restrain herself, from dishing out the underserved verbal lashing, was way too obvious. It was a testament, to her self-control, that she had only done such a thing a few times. Usually, when one was of such mind, it only took a maximum of five buttons pushed, before the nuclear codes were sent in. With the current situation now, somebody had simply swiped their hands across the whole dashboard, yet no extreme reaction had come forth. Troy greatly appreciated that, having to be the one swiping most of the time. Not for a lack of trying, but he really was terrible at not annoying her.
Instead of any of the more potentially harmful words, coming out of her mouth, a tired sigh was released. The shoulders were untensed, for but a moment, before setting themselves back in place, with a newer type of determination. She still looked absolutely done, with Charlie’s misadventures words, but it was still much calmer than before.
“So, I just need to listen a little, and I can get out of this dreadful conversation?” Dr Hale asked, clearly showing her intentions. But, well, at least she was playing along, if only slightly. Some participation was better than none at all.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Troy nearly chimed into it himself but stopped just before the words rolled off his tongue. While it would seem to be a great idea, he had already gotten himself a full introduction about the… what was it called again? Fender? Lender? Sentient manifestation with an alcohol problem? Dr Hale? Wait, no… Bender! Quite the special name, for something not being too focused on metalworking. But, if he was lucky, Troy could potentially get to throw some spoons around. Watching things, which should be physically possible, was always fun to see.
“Precisely, your perfect definition of positivity! With one simple gesture, called asking more than just 'what?`, you can improve nearly all interactions by incredible margins! How about the two of us practice this newly implemented standard, and get back to the news, which I have yet to explain?” Charlie answered with, his smile becoming more reasonable to bear. If the pace went on, they might even have gotten to the part, where the machine was brought up again. The two of them likely hadn't noticed it yet, but Troy and Darlow had certainly seen the gears begin to increase their speed.
The taller one of them had even nudged the makes of the device’s shoulder, but it had been ignored. Not the smartest thing to do, but there wasn't any chance that Troy would be interfering. If they were lucky, some time would pass, before the effects would show themselves.
Dr Hale looked at the beaming man of greatness like a butcher looked at a dead fish. Nothing serious was taken off it, and she would likely be acting much the same way.
“Then”, Dr Hale began her sentence off with a slight pause, for dramatic effect coming along. “What is this thing, what can it do, and, most importantly, why are you showing us clearly confidential technology, in the middle of our prized, short break from normal work-hours?”
The wording of it all threw the three others off slightly, with a few from other seats looking towards this 'confidential` technology. After looking at the source of these words, though, most looked away again, having gotten a taste of those people’s words many times before.
After another minor criticism, Charlie had been thrown off his game. While it was momentary, Troy could clearly see the gears inside that mind of his, trying to form the next twenty witty lines, about how negative she was, when it came to his brilliant inventions.
“A perfect question, for an even more perfect object!”, Charlie answered, finally having decided on the progression-design. It was obvious that he had been trying to lead it along to specific things. He always did so, and, for the most part, it worked perfectly. Troy had certainly been victim to such tactics before. Yet, Dr Hale had certainly not been as low in wisdom like him. She had likely wizened up to these tactics, having been on the onslaught of them for many years now. How long had the two of them know each other, Troy wondered? Were they acquainted since the start, or where the two of them meeting a new development? A decade or a year? He needed to ask about such things, at some point. “And, for the official part, I am calling this thing the 'Bender`. Cause, you know, it bends things. For the last point, though, I am definitely not telling you now. Doing so would influence your desire to learn more by a lot.”
Not the most explanatory answer. Troy knew it. Charlie knew. But, as the key figure in the equation, Dr Hale definitely knew it. From the first hint, at his explanation ending, she had nearly instinctively critiqued his vague wording on what it did. Yet, the likely smartest person, in a fifty-meter area, was not to be fooled like so.
Instead, a staring contest had started. Dr Hale wanted an explanation, on what the hell Charlie meant, with 'it bends stuff'. However, if she directly asked for clarification, he would have won, by her showing obvious interest. Even adults were stubborn, in the way, that they didn't want to be proven wrong. While it was much more impactful, in other job-positions, this one required something, which neither likely wanted to occur. Letting it be known that they were wrong.
Her eyes implied that Charlie needed to explain himself. She wasn't asking for it. It was simply his obligation to do so when one wasn't the greatest at the start. Charlie, though, did not do anything close to his so-called obligation, instead of smiling in silence. He was a brick wall, and she was the one in the truck trying to drive through it. Neither would end up successful if this continued.
Dr Hale seemed to realise this, another sigh coming from her lips. Which was great, as Darlow had been beginning to prepare a hurrying-technique called spraying Charlie with some water. It never came to fruition, much to Troy’s displeasure, with them all ready to hear what she had to say.
“Fine. If it hurries things along and allows both parties to actually eat their food, I will oblige in your petty behaviour”, Dr Hale said, not mentioning her own part of the overall pettiness. It did remind Troy to take another bite of his food, though. For what it was worth, the taste was much better than expected. The texture could have been more varied, but that wasn't something, which he should have been complaining about. “What, in the name of all that is reasonable, do you mean, when you tell me, that this device can bend stuff?”
“I mean exactly what it implies”, Charlie smugly answered. Upon the expected reaction, of Dr Hale not having any of it, Troy was finally brought into the conversation. “Troy, do the thing with the spoons, please. A practical demonstration is needed, if this fine lady isn't going to be stabbing through my head, with her shoes.”
Looking over at the stack of available cutlery, none such things were available. They had seemingly been removed, due to their lack of use, in the current dish. Forks and knives were available, though.
“Wouldn't any metal be okay?” Troy asked, before going ahead with his rather radical idea. While throwing around knives, with the destination not known, might have been looked at, as incredibly crazy, forks were another story. With those, it was more along the lines, of fifty per cent, between either being crazy or being stupid. Those were favourable odds. He just needed permission, so he could blame it on somebody else.
“Sure!”, Charlie confirmed, as informative as ever. “If it has some metal in it, it should be incredibly obvious, in the results. Nothing too sharp, though. Getting walked out by security, during break hours, were fun the first two times. The third is apparently work endangering.”
With the oddly specific warning, Troy took it as a go for the forks. There weren't too many left, with there only being supposed to be enough for six people, but it should be enough, for the purposes. He just needed to throw it correctly, and it would go perfectly.
…
If Troy threw them, it would most likely hit one of the two people sitting in front of him. He was not high enough, in needing to be kept employed, that such risks could be taken. Instead, the slightly sharp cutlery was given to Charlie.
“How about you show it yourself?” Troy suggested, with only a few underlying reasons for it. “It wouldn't be too good if I did it improperly. Such showcasing would be best shown by the creator, so the fine details aren't scampered over, right?”
“Couldn't have said it better myself”, Charlie said, gladly taking over the obligation. While Troy might not have realised it, the man had some underlying reasons as well. Stability was important after all, and events were not to be repeated unnecessarily. “Dr Hale, if you would be so kind, as to take a look at these fine examples of cold forging, you will be amazed.”
No more words were uttered before Charlie hurled one of the forks in the direction of the 'Bender`. If nothing out of the normal was to happen, it would have hit it spot on. Instead, it flew wildly to the right, clattering just on the edge of the table. It was pure luck, and a good deal of friction, that stopped it from itself from hitting the floor. Such a thing would have made too much noise.
Speaking of noise, Dr Hale had fully stopped emitting such things. From what Troy could see, she had even stopped breathing, nor was she blinking. Her eyes were fully focused on the device.
Charlie simply smirked. The man knew exactly what he had done. It had taken some time, for the right set-up, but the pay-off had been better than most would have been able to imagine. It was not every day that one got to see Dr Hale’s mental faculties shut down, due to sheer flabbergastation.
“Pretty cool, right?” Charlie asked the clearly stumped.
“Throw another fucking fork”, Dr Hale answered. Her tone was more… unpassive than before. Professionalism certainly couldn't be used to describe it, nor could it be done phonetically, with such wording.
“What?” Charlie spluttered, clearly having not expected such wording. It was almost humorous to the spectators of the discussion, having him use the words that he had criticized not a minute earlier.
“The fork in your hand. Throw it. Should be easy to do, with the ingenuity you possess.
Right?”