Dad's WorkShop: If I had to sum up my Dad's Archetype it would come down to either a comedian (with an Audience of 2) or that of a Tinkerer. Someone who likes books as much as the next person -and I quote- "thank you very much, but what alla those books don't'ave is something for my hands to do! If all 5 or 7 senses aren't involved then I can't really get into my zone, ya know?" Yea, I got what he was attempting to say at the time and it was never more in evidence as when I (or mom as we were the only people for miles around) walked into his shop to see any number of gadgets whirrling, twirling, unfurling, even hurling through the air, and on the rare occasion- all of the above- ending in some kind of cataclysm-whether it be some priceless artifact (paperweight) shattered-or a rare sculpture(doorstop) destroyed; rest assured you will hear all about it at the next evening meal along with deflections as to why it was anything but HIS fault that somehow a contraption HE made went haywire and shredded an expensive cleaning drone...There's a reason the serenity prayer has made it throughout the ages intact and unchanged... just breathe.. Okay, so I walked in and he is muttering over some board full of wires that looked dangerously exposed and,ah, uninsullated to boot, at least it's not hooked up to anything-oh actually that is the telltale hummming frequency of the Mains. Was he actively trying to blow us all up?! I had a slightly more urgent need for him to look at whatever remained of the Index I uhm..broke. "DAD" I yelled over the sound of some god-awful punk-rock that he found in a music cache years ago that he insisted were all "classics"."Doo-doo-doo Doo doo-doo dooooo"Was blaring over the speaker and tbh I guess life did seem pretty semi-charmed at the cusp of a seemingly inevitable climatepocolypse society faced before -as dad and his conspiracy theories would attest to- "The MAN decided he could create himself a shiny new God but in doing so only built him-self a guilded cage with a warden that has them convinced they actually hold the keys..." usually accompanied by suspicious looking glances and checking behind his back. Like anything could hear or pick up what was said at dinner. Kind of nice in a way, not having the OverMind privy to every conversation we had. If dad was to be believed he'd Faraday caged every new ~off the books~ tunnel so as to be warded against the "nefarious spy-in-the-sky" but if the newer tunnels were metaphorically armored the "Canteen" would be like a vault. Haha that's what you get living in Alaskania, where guns were still legal-fingers crossed for all the other hold out States/Territories-and the idea of living off the land and not OverMind sponsored living programs made one, less-than-complacent- to put it litely.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"DAAAD" I yelled as I strode over to some contraption he jury-rigged out of 4 different models from 2 different regions and switched of the next song that sounded like the most whiny pre-pubescent kid complaining that one could possibly imagine and hesitantly tapped his shoulderA coin flip if the reaction was good or bad. I lost the toss as he whirled around and screamed "JAY-SUS SON YOU SCARED ME"I winced as he hadn't returned to reasonable decibals yet after damging his ears for who knows how long."I need you to look at this!" I half-yelled"Where the hell did you get that?! It's SO SHINY" He exclaimed as he closed the distance and took off his ocular goggles. No GrafTek for Dad! No sir."I think a hawk broke or something and I was bring back the codex-""OH your mother said you were going to finish today -a broken bird you said! Those damn drones have finally started glitching I knew-""DAD- seriously i cant, ugh! Fuck it-I mean to say- that this-that I'm being super cereal right now and I need you guys to believe me!" I blurted out using one of our family "eMEMEgency Code$" Immediately he was sporting a Shit-Eating grin as I invoked one of the most ancient of what were supposedly early internet jokes he archived when he first met mom and became, a hobbyist of sorts. Or "meme-enthusiast" as he would have us call it. Either way he co-opted a bunch of them all and taught them to me alongside an -allegedly- unwitting accomplice of Mom and at long last after years of not having to use them(not since a visit from OverMind outreach program over my internet usage before mom showed me how to sate my curiosity in a more, ahem, anonymous way) since then and he went from a second maybe of gloating to all business as I knew he would"My one and Only Son." He said and knelt to reverently touch my forehead with his own while placing both hands on my shoulders- as is part and parcel of it all-He looked me in the Eyes and deadpanned the response "I'm here if you need to talk"... Finally.